


Blackbirds

by Aeacus, IbisVilen



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Aftercare, Agents of Hell, Angels, Character Death, Demons, Demonstuck, Epic Battles, Fluff, Gay Sex, Gore, Graphic Violence, Insanity, M/M, More tags and characters to come, Multi, Only minor characters, Sadstuck, Smut, Violence, With A Twist, attempted suicide, sin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-13 20:46:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 49,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1240267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeacus/pseuds/Aeacus, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IbisVilen/pseuds/IbisVilen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is a Demon Hunter and Dave is an Agent of Hell, but that means they are actually on the same side, fighting in the long war against Sin. If only John knew what that meant. They'll fight alongside the Prince of Hell and a deranged Djinni to save the unsuspecting souls of Earth.</p><p>A twist on the classic demonstuck that started as a silly little challenge and then grew a plot and ran. Ran far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arc 1 - Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> There will be at least 15 "Arcs" that will be broken up by word count, so a lot more chapters than that are planned. This will contain gratuitous violence and demon slaying, gratuitous sex and fluff, a couple tear jerking moments, and mention of insanity. 
> 
> If you have any questions or comments or are looking for some art, either drop us a comment below or go to our tumblrs @  
> AeacusTero.tumblr.com and IbisVilen.tumblr.com
> 
> (We apologize now for Satan!Bro but we couldn't resist)

Demon-light shines from eyes gleaming in the darkness behind the crates. They watch the boy move through the warehouse. His movements are furtive as he searches for what watches him. His quarry has the advantage in the darkness and keeps to the shadows. The owner of the red eyes can smell the sweat on the boy’s skin but there is only a faint scent of fear. Mostly it is excitement, anticipation, and the healthy scent of physical exertion that comes from running at least ten blocks. The sound of tendons tightening around the wooden handle of the hammer in his hands is almost as loud as his heavy breaths and scuffing tennis shoes to sharp pointed ears.

“I know you are in here. I can track you, you know!” The boy calls out, looking around the large room as if he could penetrate the dark shadows cast by the buzzing halogen lights.

“If you can track me,” the boy turns to the hoarse voice, “then why can’t you find me?” the voice finishes from another corner of the room.

“Well, I can only tell as close as like twenty feet which means you are in this building and if you leave I can find you again. Please don’t leave again. That was a long run.”

“You need a better toy.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Uh... because you are a demon,” the boy answers like its the most obvious thing in the world.

“Heh,” the laugh echoes through the room hollowly. “Do you know what I am?”

“I just said that. You are a demon.”

“Do you know what I am a demon of?”

“Uhh... Of evil?”

“ _IGNORANT BOY!_ ” the voice booms, rattling the thin glass panes high on the walls.

The boy flinches down. “Jeez, you don’t have to yell.”

“Do you know why you are not scared of me?”

“Because you aren’t that scary. God you looked like you might have been my age. Skinny guy. I’ve faced down demons much uglier and bigger than you.”

“Those were demons of rage and hate, of lust and wrath, of hunger.”

“Yea. Evil. Like you.”

“No.” The answer is quiet and soft and right next to the boy. He spins on his heel and watches as a young man, his age of about twenty. His hair is pure white, his skin a dark mocha. His eyes are a crimson that reminds the boy of a bloody ruby with a star trapped inside. Dark curved tattoos mark his high sharp cheekbones and swirled about his collarbones and his bare shoulders. The lack of a shirt shows scars across a chiseled chest, almost glowing white against his dark skin. Black jeans hang low on his hips, looking like they are barely clinging to the sharp hip bones. The fabric pools around his ankles against the floor. The boy swears that the shoes that are barely poking through are red and white converse high tops.

The boy slides into an offensive position, holding his hammer low and to the side, ready to swing it up in a sharp blow. But the demon does not move. His face is blank but the boy can see a sadness at the edges of his eyes.

The demon just watches the boy. Not really a boy, not with the experience of slaying demons behind him, but he still has a youthfulness about him that makes one call him a boy. Black hair curls about his head in a wild mess that refuses to be tamed by brush or product. Square black framed glasses rest easily on his face, worn with the ease of just shy of two decades of use. Innocent blue eyes of the truest summer sky peer out from behind them. His skin is pale in the warehouse light and awkwardly shadowed but the demon had seen the healthy rosy glow from before. His body has the thickness of physical labor matched by his choice of weapon. The demon can smell the sawdust and paint fumes on his green flannel shirt and fitted light blue jeans. The leather workman’s boots are caked with mud and should have been too heavy to run in.

“Why aren’t you attacking me?” the boy asks quizzically.

“You are innocent.”

“Well, uh... I read the bible daily and do my best to stay out of trouble.”

“Untouched.”

“Wha- oh.” The boy’s face blushes bright red, visible even in the bad lighting. “Well, it’s not like carpentry and demon hunting leaves much time for guy- girls.” He looks away from the demon in bashfulness before startling himself and getting back to the matter at hand. “Why am I discussing my love life with a demon?! Just let me end you and then I can finally get some sleep!”

“Untouched by Sin.” The demon’s voice is soft and almost wistful. “Why do you want to kill me?”

“We have gone over this already,” the boy rolls his eyes in exasperation. “You are evil; I’m a demon hunter; I kill evil demons.”

“ _I am not evil._ ” The demons hands clench at his sides in restrained anger.

“But you’re a demon; ergo, evil.”

“No.” The word comes out almost as a sob. “I’m not. I swear- I swear I’m not.”

“What?”

“I am not like those that you mentioned. I have no rage, no hate, no wrath, no lust, no hunger. I am not here to corrupt, to kill, to hurt. I am not of sin. I am not of Earth! I am Hell’s servant!” The boy can see fire licking at the edges of the demon’s irises. A hint of something like righteousness lines the edges of his expression before being schooled down into the emotionless mask he wore.

“What?”

“I have been sent by Lucifer to cleanse the Earth of those who have sinned beyond redemption. Those demons that you have faced are not Hell’s agents. They are mortals who have drunk of sin for so long and so deeply that they are no longer recognizable. I, like you, hunt these down. _I am Lucifer’s son._ ”

“What?”

The demon’s position finally breaks as he lifts a hand to his face to rub at the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You cannot be this fucking dense.”

“I’m sorry I’m having a hard time believing that demons are the spawn of Hell and that you are kinda on my side, maybe? I mean, what? Who would believe that type of malarky?”

“Kid-”

“I’m not a kid! I am twenty years old! And plus you look my age! Don’t call me kid!”

“I have eons on you.”

“Still can’t call me kid!”

“John Egbert. Son of James Egbert. Grandson of Jane Crocker. Great grandson of John Crocker, of whom you bear the name.” A shiver runs through John’s spine. “Listen to my truth. I am Dave Strider in this identity and I am son of Lucifer and I will not hurt you.” The tingling sensation at John’s fingers intensifies in a sharp burst before fading as the demon’s words finish echoing through the room. “Though Lucifer’s going through this phase where he wants to be called Bro. I don’t get it, don’t ask me.”

“ _Bro_? Satan goes by _Bro_?” John asks incredulously.

“I’ve told him it’s ridiculous and no one would believe me but yea.”

“That is the most inane thing I think I have ever heard.” John relaxes out of his stance, slipping the hammer into his tool belt.

“So, you believe me?” Dave asked cautiously.

“Yea, I do. That was angel power. My family has some of that. Do you have wings?”

“Huh?” Dave replies eloquently.

“Well you obviously should have more angel in you than me, being a direct descendent from the angel that fell and all, so I was wondering if you had wings?”

“Uhh... yea.”

“Can I see them?”

“...sure.” Dave closes his eyes and concentrates for a moment. There is a rustle of feathers and suddenly two black wings unfurl from his back where there was nothing before. The span is easily fifteen feet across. The halogen lights cast oily glimmers over the feathers that continue to ruffle as Dave stretches them out.

“Dude,” amazement is heavy in his voice. “Can I touch them?”

“I guess.”

John steps forward up to the wings, right next to Dave. He gently reaches a hand out and strokes the dark feathers. They are soft against his fingertips. He can feel the gently twitching movement as Dave continues to keep them outstretched. He brushes the longer feathers of the secondaries and secondary coverts of the wing before moving up to the marginal coverts. He trails his hand back up towards the scapulars where the wings meet Dave’s back and feels that they get softer. Suddenly he ducks under the large wing and gets behind Dave. Dave tenses for a moment before relaxing when John buries his fingers into the soft feathers in front of Dave’ shoulder blades. John reaches the tissue underneath and gently scratches it with his fingertips. He feels Dave relax even more. He presses a little harder until a soft moan escapes the demon’s lips.

“Feels that good, huh?”

“How- where- how do you know-”

“Pet bird. Loved it when I did this.”

“I’m not a pet.” John can hear the pout in Dave’s voice.

“I know.” John places his hand on the small gap between Dave’s wings and is slightly startled at the heat under the skin. He doesn’t pull his hand away even at Dave’s retensing. Instead he just continues to massage the muscle around the joint that connects wing to back. The hand on skin slides over into the other wing and Dave moans slightly louder. His back arches a little towards John. John just smiles and works his fingers a little harder. He’s rewarded with a deeper moan.

“John... you should stop.”

“But you are enjoying this.”

“Yea... a little... too much.”

“Huh?”

“John... if you want... to keep that innocent... streak going... please stop.”

“But it’s so soft.”

“John,” Dave tries to plead but it just comes out as a moan. A moan that definitely made John think not so innocent things and made his tool belt around his waist kinda uncomfortable.

“Oh.” He stops scratching but doesn’t pull his fingers away. Dave slumps a little, relieved that he managed to restrain himself. John hums in thought and then lightly starts up the scritching again.

“John!” Dave gasps out.

“Not like I’m going for the innocent vibe by choice.”

As soon as the statement registers in Dave’s head, John finds himself having to duck in favor of not being clotheslined by a wing. Then he is being pulled upright and pressed up against a nearby wooden crate and, wow, Dave’s lips are really hot. Temperature wise. Sexy wise too with how silky soft they are and how they rub against John’s sensually and that’s a tongue and his tongue is hotter (temperature) than his skin. John finds himself drinking in the heat as Dave’s hands press against his chest as his lips press against his and John sucks lightly on Dave’s tongue. John’s hands come up to cups his cheeks. One slips into Dave’s white hair, finding it as soft as his black wings. He gasps against the kiss when Dave’s hips press up against his.

Hard erections bump against each other and both of them mentally curse the jeans in the way. Hands skim down torsos to waists. Dave breaks the kiss to actually curse aloud when his fingers fumble with the tool belt. John takes the opportunity to relocate his lips to the side of Dave’s neck, tasting the saltiness of his skin along with a burnt cinnamon flavor that makes his tongue tingle. He somehow gets Dave’s pants undone and they slide down his thighs revealing more hot flesh. Dave growls and John can feel the vibrations under his tongue. The deep baritone sets pleasure coiling at his core. He hears a rip of fabric being cut and glances down. He notices how sharp one of Dave’s nails has become and how there is now a gash in John’s clothes.

“Seriously?”

“I’ll fucking get you some more. I want you. I need you now.” Dave shoves the ruined fabric down and then grabs the bottom hem of his shirt and quickly tugs it off. John’s hands go to his torso as Dave tosses the fabric away. He traces some of the tattoos before his palm brushes against a pebbled nipple, causing Dave to catch a moan in his throat. Interested, John explores the reaction more with teasing brushes and then finally a testing roll between his fingers. He is rewarded with another growl. His mischievous smile is knocked off his face when Dave presses their now bare lower halves together and their cocks brush against each other as their hips align.

“Oh gosh!”

“Fucking yes!” Dave kisses John again with enough force that John thinks that his lips might be bruised the next morning. Or burnt with how hot Dave feels. The length of his torso is pressed up against Dave’s and he feels that heat against him with each roll of the demon’s hips. He gasps at the cool air filling his lungs when Dave moves from kissing his lips to sucking on his neck, licking his jawline, nibbling on his earlobe. The rush of sensations blows through him in a whirlwind of pleasure that has his moans and gasps mixing with the deep growling that resonates through Dave’s chest.

A hot hand sneaks in between their bodies and wraps around their erections, holding them together. John clings desperately to Dave as he begins to pump them in time to the rocking of his hips.

“Dave Dave _Dave_!”

“John,” Dave whispers out. John has never heard his name sound so much like a prayer and he gasps silently as the pleasure crashes down around him and he cums in Dave’s hand. A splash of heat against his lower body informs him that Dave followed closely but it barely registers in his hazed mind. All he can focus on is the effort to remain upright, getting fresh cool air into his lungs, and a sense of happy heat holding him up.

“Haa, fuck. Wow. Okay, was not expecting to get laid tonight when you first started chasing me down the road.”

“I wasn’t either! Wasn’t expecting any of this.”

“You okay with it?” Dave asks with honest concern in his voice.

“Uh, yea. Yea I am. No longer so ‘untouched’ I guess, but I’m pretty okay with it. Also wasn’t expecting to find an ally with a demon.”

“Agent of Hell. Much better connotation.”

“Not really. How about ex-angel? I think I can pull that one off with my father.”

“Heh, I don’t think that’ll matter.”

“Now, not to be rude, but can you let me out of your furnace of an embrace. I’m kinda sweating now and it’s not in a great way.”

“Oh! Sorry, dude. Yea. Sure.” Dave quickly steps back, having to shuffle with his jeans still around his ankles. He quickly pulls them up and goes to retrieve John’s shirt as John pulls up and then examines his ruined clothes.

“You cut my belt. Thankfully it’s the weekend so I don’t have work tomorrow. You owe me a new outfit.”

Dave scoffs at him as he hands over his shirt and a piece of rope which to tie off John’s pants for now. “Sure. Where can I find you to drop them off tomorrow?”

“At my place.”

“And where is that?”

“You know my great grandfather’s name but you don’t know where I live.”

Dave shrugs.

“Well, why don’t you come home with me so I can show you?”

Dave raises an eyebrow at him. “For a recently ex-virgin, you actually do have some moves.”

John’s face blushes red again. “Again, didn’t really choose to be innocent. Just not a lot of time on the job. Unless my target isn’t evil I guess. I mean, you don’t have to come back with me, I just thought-”

“Chill. I’d love to crash at your place. Kinda don’t have one of my own actually,” Dave bashfully scratches the back of his head.

“What?”

“I mean, I did. But it’s kinda downstairs. Haven’t been up here for long this round.”

“Wow, I was pretty lucky to find you then.”

“Not in the way you think,” Dave murmurs.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Come on, hunter. Let’s get you outta here.” Dave’s wings fold up and disappear behind his silhouette. He turns on his heel with John scrambling close behind him.

 


	2. Arc 2 - Lust

The house is dark when John and Dave finally get back to his house. They sneak inside with minimal sound and just tumble into John's bed. John ends up under the covers with just his boxers while Dave is banished above because of his heat. The kisses shared between them shift down from the passionate ones in the warehouse to softer sweeter ones and then to sleepy ones as John pillows his head on Dave's bare chest. Sleep overtakes them easily.

* * *

Dave startles awake, which knocks John awake too, at the soft cough from the bedroom doorway.

"Ah shit. Hi, Jimmy."

"Hello, David."

"Dad! I swear this isn't what it looks like well maybe it is what does it look like- wait, you two know each other?"

"David was my previous name. I'm Dave now. Moving away from the biblical tones," Dave continues, ignoring John’s outburst.

"It's James for me as well. How is Lucifer?"

"Doing well. He's going by Bro now."

"What? That's ridiculous." The older man pinches the bridge of his nose in confused disdain.

"See! I told you!" Dave shouts off to the side. John stares in amazement as the hair on the back of Dave's head is suddenly thrown up and Dave looks like he is knocked forward.

"At least he's out of his Lucy phase," James comments as if nothing happened even as Dave rubs the affected area.

"Oh Hell, don't remind me."

"Uhh... I hate to be repetitive, but," John draws out the word, "you two know each other?" John asks again.

"Yes. David- Dave, forgive me," Dave shrugs, "assisted me when I hunted a particularly challenging demon in Vegas when I was just younger than you, John."

"That Greedy bastard. You could smell him from Hell. I can't believe you tried to take that one on by yourself."

"I think I would have done just fine." James leans casually against the doorframe. He had the same broad shoulders as his son but his lines were much more refined. He wore casual slacks and a opened button down shirt over a white cotton one, looking both tailored and casual at the same time. His sharp nose isn’t as straight as it was back then due to being broken several times from various demons. His face carried a wry amusement tucked into the lines that marked his age. Those same sky blue eyes twinkled with mischief under the brim of a light gray fedora sitting on dark hair streaked with gray. The edges of his thin lips quirked up in a smirk.

Dave barks out a laugh. "You are still just as arrogant as you were back then."

"I suppose I have not changed much in certain areas."

"Changed a bit in others, old man. I see you picked up a kid."

"What did I say about calling me a kid?!" John interjects.

"I see you have met my son quite intimately,” James counters with a knowing glance.

"Hey!" John’s face burns bright red at his father’s remark.

"Breakfast and coffee are available downstairs in the kitchen for when you two care to get dressed," James continues.

John looks down at their matched bare chests and blushes furiously, pulling the sheet up over his head. He hears Dave laughing at him and his father gently closing the door.

"I think that went well." Dave falls back against the pillows, pulling John down with a squawk and a kiss.

 

They enter the kitchen fully clothed. John had grabbed some not-ruined jeans and a casual t-shirt. Dave ended up borrowing one of John's shirts, his skinny frame swimming in the fabric. He also pilfered a pair of John's sunglasses. John grudgingly admits that Dave looks better in the aviators than he does.

They are hit with the strong aroma of coffee and sausage with an underlying sugariness. John groans when he sees the three cakes lined up neatly on the counter. Dave bypasses them for the coffee sitting in the pot. John creeps closer to read the iced messages on the cake.

_"Congratulations on finding an Agent of ~~Lucifer Br~~ Hell"_

_"Congratulations on Coming Out. I'll always be Proud of you"_

_"Congratulations on the Sex. Be Safe"_

John hides his face in his hands. Dave sips at the strong black liquid as he pads barefooted to stand behind John, throwing a casual arm around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder to read the cakes.

"Are you trying to kill him with embarrassment, Jimmy? And nice save there on my cake."

"Thank you, David."

"It's Dave."

"It's James."

"Right. Can't believe you still do the cake thing."

"Every celebration deserves a cake," James tosses back over his shoulder from the stove.

"Can you get any more passive aggressive? You are rivaling my sister."

"You have a sister?" John asks.

"A complete bitch. I love her dearly." The conversation is interrupted by James handing them plates full of sausage, eggs, and toast. They settle at the table to eat.

John takes a moment while chewing his toast to look at Dave. The morning light shines off of his snowy pure white hair. The glare on the sunglasses hides his eyes entirely but John swears he can see red softly glowing behind the tinted glass. The only difference John can really see in the new lighting is that the tattoos that were nearly black are now barely visible against his mocha skin.

Dave catches him looking and blows a kiss at him.

"So how did the two of you meet?" James interrupts John's retaliatory stuck out tongue.

"Oh! I was walking home from the job, working late again to get Ms. O'Leary's kitchen done by her grandson's birthday when Jade's talisman goes off in my pocket. Used it to track him down. He made me run like a hundred blocks-"

"It was only ten." Dave rolls his eyes, the gesture mostly lost because of the glasses.

"-to a warehouse where I trapped him-"

"You did _not_ trap me. I just stopped running."

"Then he told me about who he was when I was about to kill him."

"I think he's been angel touched; he's got more angel in him than you, James," Dave pointedly ignores the false claim.

"He showed me his wings, and then we came home," John finishes quickly, a light flush creeping across his face at the memory of the previous night.

"Aw, you’re skipping all the details."

"I'm not telling my dad about that," John hisses.

"Bro would wanna know," Dave shrugs.

"Dad's not the devil."

"You're right; he's not blessed enough."

"So Jade's talisman found him? " James conveniently changes the subject.

"It wasn't working perfectly."

"I'm surprised it worked at all. It’s not supposed to find Hell’s agents."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"About?"

"How the rest of Hell is kinda our ally?"

"It's complicated."

That draws a snort out of Dave. “That’s an understatement.”

“There are still demons that have crawled out of Hell to terrorize humans and so that isn’t an inaccurate description, but they did not originally come from Hell. They were once humans corrupted by Sin into the monsters that they are now. Hell is their prison, but their warden,” James sends a sharp look in Dave’s direction, “can get quite busy at times and they reappear here. And then there are the demons who have not been through hell yet, that are fresh. Those are usually what we handle.”

“Yea and we get the rest, because the veterans are pretty damn tough. It’s not easy to get out of Hell. Even when you have a free pass,” Dave adds.

“We?”

“My brother and I. He’s the Prince and I’m the Knight. I mean, there is a whole army dedicated to it from our side, but Dirk and I are the commanders in this war against Sin.”

“You talk like sin is an actual thing.”

“It is. Remember the snake from Adam and Eve? Bro gets casted as the snake a lot because humans are illiterate idiots, but that’s Sin. It’s the third part to the three. God, Lucifer, Sin. Heaven, Hell, Earth. The cosmos really likes its threes, doesn’t it?”

“I always thought the devil was the bad guy?”

“Nah. He still loves the Big Man and all. Just had a little argument over how to handle Sin. And so God let him do his own thing. We punish the evil unrepentant down there. What did you think we do, throw parties?”

“Uh...”

“Dave, be kind. This is a lot for him to take in so early in the morning.”

“Yea, yea. Just thought you would have educated him a bit.”

“I never thought he would run into an Agent. Let alone you. It is easier to fight with a clear black and white line.”

“Yea, and I’m right in the gray.”

Silence falls over the kitchen as James sips his coffee and Dave returns to eating and John sits there dumbly, trying to process the information. The soft sounds of domesticity keep it from being too awkward, but there is still a tension between all three.

John breaks it with, “You still owe me pants.”

 

After dishes are done, John takes Dave out to the nearest mall so that he can repay his debt. John keeps an eye on him and is amazed at how his appearance changes in the different light. The more natural light there is, the more human Dave looks, especially with the sunglasses securely fashioned to his face. But in artificial lights, John can catch the edges of the tattoos returning, the sharp point along the upper edge of his ear, the points of his teeth when he laughs at one of John’s jokes. John muses at how natural Dave looks in the suburban environment despite being a demon and looking just as at home in the shadows of the warehouse.

They check out several stores but either John doesn’t like any of the styles available or the one that he did want, isn’t in his size. They work from one end of the mall to the other methodically. Dave usually trails a step to two steps behind John’s purposeful stride. His eyes scan the crowds. He sees those who are marked with Sin and those who are still innocent. He looks up at John when he stops at the entrance of the next store and wonders at the untouched soul that could have ended him last night had he not believed.

“There’s something here.”

“You think this is the lucky store?”

“There’s a demon nearby.”

“Standing right here, bro.”

“Not you.” John rolls his eyes at him.

“Are you relying on that toy of yours again.” Dave turns and looks out into the mall, tipping the glasses down to look at the crowds milling around. The marks on his skin flush a little darker as he looks for the stain of Sin. “It can’t even give you a direction. There are a lot of people here you know.”

“It’s in the store,” John’s voice sounds sure. He starts forward and Dave has to skip to catch up. John weaves around the stacks of clothing with determination.

“How do you know that?”

“I just do. Like how I found you last night.”

“Fricken angel touched,” Dave mutters as he follows the brunette. “Oh!” He grabs John’s wrist and pulls him to a stop as he catches a strong scent across the air conditioned breeze. “Shit. You are right. It’s in here. Demon of Lust. Fairly new. And on the prowl,” he nearly growls out the last word as the scent gets stronger and the pheromones hit his system. He feels John tugging against his grip. He glances around and sees all the men either looking or heading to the back of the store. He pulls John back far enough to look at his face and he frowns at the slack jaw softness he finds.

He forcefully grabs the back of John’s hair and pulls him into a rough kiss, his lips hot against John’s who takes a long second to respond. Then John’s hands are clutching the borrowed tee shirt. Dave pulls him away and sees that John’s features are sharp and his eyes bright and focused again.

“Dave?”

“We’re good. That should hold you, but I’m not macking on all of these dudes in here. You are a special case.” John glances over his shoulder and takes in the situation as best as he can around all of the sale signs. “Though if we don’t do anything, she’s gonna get fat on them.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Got any weapons on ya?”

“We’re at a mall!”

“I’ll take that as a no. We need to get her away from everyone. There are probably service areas in the back.”

“What do we do with all these guys?”

“Do I have to think of everything? Shit, son, I thought you were the demon hunter!” Dave shakes his head, but continues on without letting John speak, “I can probably break this thrall she has going on by siphoning her energy.”

“You can do that?”

“Not a lot I can’t do,” Dave says smugly.

“Well then go ahead and do it. I’ll go after her!”

Dave sighs deeply and takes off his glasses. His tattoos are dark black as he closes his eyes and breathes deeply. He feels the energies drifting through the store. Mentally he grabs onto one and draws it to himself. The others follow suit. He can feel his skin get hotter as he takes in the lustful energies. His blood itches just below the skin. He grits his teeth and pushes down the feeling of want growing from where he pulls in her power.

He feels John take off to the back of the store. He opens his eyes and follows him back. The other guys in the store stop moving and just sort of stand their blankly as John and Dave run past. They see a young woman standing near the back. She is gorgeous by any societal standards. Almost too much so that reminds one of the airbrushed perfection in magazines. Her eyes go wide as she watches the hunters approach. Her long black hair swirls out behind her as she turns and flees towards the dressing rooms. John catches the door that leads to the service areas that Dave had mentioned. Dave ducks in a half step behind him.

Dave feels her energy shift to concentrate against John and himself. He metaphorically tugs on them and draws in the force, feeling burning in his chest swell. He almost stumbles at the sight of John ducking down to grab something off a nearby cart. The image of John down on his knees in front of him sears through his brain in a flash.

The girl falls when one of her spindly heels snaps letting John and Dave close the distance. She gets back to her feet and whirls to face John bearing down on her. Dave feels and swallows a burst of power that makes his whole body throb with want. He steadies himself by trying to counter with his own power making his senses sharpen into harsh detail.

John doesn’t even miss a stride as he swings his arm back, a hammer tight in his grip, and then brings it up in an arc so that the metallic head catches her cheekbone. To Dave, it plays out in slow motion as her head follows the blow, the spit in her mouth being knocked away, the hammer drawing blood from the new wound, the sharp crack of her spine snapping at the neck. It’s a one hit knock out.

John skids to a stop as the body knocks against the wall before slumping to the floor. Dave gasps as the energies suddenly cut out. Both of them are breathing heavily at the brief burst of activity. The demon’s body twitches once and then a cleansing blue flame engulfs it. They watch as all trace of the demon is burned away.

“So, does it go to hell or something?” John asks casually as if he hadn’t just attempted decapitation via a work hammer on a beautiful female demon.

“Something like that. A first timer like that, definitely.” John looks over at Dave when he hears the deeper than normal voice. Immediately he notices that Dave looks a lot like he did in the warehouse just in better lighting. His hair is almost blue it is so white. The marks are dark enough to almost have depth to them and they are not as static as before. His eyes are like embers at the center of a fire staring at the spot the she-demon was before. His teeth are shaped like fangs pressing against his lips. His edges seem brighter than his surroundings, simultaneously more and less real. John can feel a power buzzing under his skin. He looks alien compared to the Dave that John was getting used to.

“Are you alright, Dave?”

“No. Not quite. You might want to get away, John.”

“Why would I leave you after you helped me with that?”

“John,” his voice is like gravel, pained with restraint. His hands twitch. He fights himself to keep staring at the ground even though he can hear John’s heartbeat, he can smell John’s skin, he can remember how it tasted last night, he wants to feel John’s skin under his fingers again. His body wants John, wants to mark him, wants to claim him.

“Let me help you now, Dave. Don’t be so stubborn.” John’s light hearted teasing tone makes Dave turn away from him, turning towards the opposite wall. He presses a hand against the cool surface as he tries to control the swirling energies inside him. His pants are tight and uncomfortable; in fact his skin itches with any and all contact with fabric. He rips his shirt off over his head, wanting the cool air to soothe the heat in his blood. He smells John’s interest, probably in memory of the night before.

“John, I can’t... control...”

The hand on his back makes him hiss and suddenly claws are digging into the wall.

“What’s wrong, Dave?”

“Lust, you idiot! Lust demon, Lust energy!”

“Oh.” The hand retreats but only to about an inch off his skin. Still to close. “How can I help, Dave?”

For the second time since they’ve met, John finds himself pinned against the nearest hard surface by a shirtless demon. “ _Fool_. Do you have any common sense? No wonder an angel touched you, you are just so pitiful,” Dave murmurs the words as he nuzzles against John’s neck. “You wouldn’t ask to help me if you knew what I wanted to do to you right now. You should be running away from me. Nothing but bad luck and corrupting influence here. I want to take you, John. I want to bite you, just eat you up, mark you with my teeth. I want to dig my fingers into you, make you bruise. I want to shove my dick down your throat, until you choke on it. I want to take you, claim you, bend you over and fuck you until you scream my name until my name is the only word you know. I want to be inside you to hold you down so you can’t get away from me as I force my cock into you. I want to fuck you so hard against the wall that there is an imprint in the concrete. I want to make you mine. I want you. I need you, John.”

Dave is breathing hard. The dust from the concrete where he is gripping the wall crumbles down onto John’s shoulder. John is hot and trapped and absolutely aroused. Dave can smell his excitement tinged with just a hint of fear from the thought that it might be a little too much for John to take. He can hear the pounding of John’s pulse and harsh drag of air into his lungs. His hips are trapped by Dave’s as their erections each fight their respective confining clothes.

John reaches up and grabs one of Dave’s hands. He brings the fingers to his lips, lightly licking the tips including the sharp edges of the claws. He draws them into his mouth with suction, feeling the claws retreat back to normal blunt fingernail shape. He laves the digits with his tongue, sliding over them, in between them, sucking them farther into his mouth to wet more of them.

Dave trembles against him. He holds as still as possible to keep himself in control, letting John handle everything. John seems content to get his fingers as wet as possible. Blue eyes meet red and John pauses at the intensity behind them. He lets go of Dave’s wrist but keeps sucking on his fingers as his own hands go to their waists. He undoes his own pants to spare the pair from Dave’s methods before removing Dave’s.

Dave growls as John pulls his hips close again, feeling flesh against hot flesh. It’s all so similar to the night before except it’s John’s hand between them now, pumping them together.

“It will take more than this,” Dave warns.

John answers with a nod and another hard suck on Dave’s fingers.

“Are you sure you want your first time here?” Dave asks, his concern barely audible over the lust in his voice.

John reaches up and pulls Dave’s fingers out of his mouth. “The warehouse wasn’t ideal either but that didn’t stop us.”

“Fuck, John.” He lets John guide his hand around behind him before taking control. John gasps lightly as Dave brushes the wet digits between his cheeks. Dave’s lips are like hot brands against John’s neck, his sharp teeth nicking the soft skin. Dave’s fingertips brush up against that sensitive entrance causing John to jump a little. The movement bumps into Dave’s jeans, making something fall out of the pocket. Dave glances down and instantly recognizes the small tube.

“Oh shit, it’s the good stuff,” Dave exclaims as he steps away momentarily from John who whimpers at the loss of contact. Dave ducks down and grabs the bottle before catching John’s lips in a searing kiss. It only lasts momentarily before Dave grabs John’s shoulders and flips him around, pressing his chest against the concrete and pulling his hips back towards himself. John catches himself against the wall, turning his head to keep from knocking his nose. He shivers harshly at the cold on his front and the heat along his back as Dave presses against him. Dave’s lips find the back of his neck and sucks lightly, drawing a moan from John’s chest.

Dave’s cock slips in between John’s legs just under his ass. His hand slides from his hip to cup the ass. John hears the snap of a lid and suddenly there is cool liquid being dipped down his crack soon followed up with almost too hot fingers. He gasps as Dave uses the lube to push his fingers against and then into his entrance. It’s not painful, just slightly uncomfortable and novel. His body quickly adjusts and Dave pushes a third finger in. Something tingles between anywhere their skin is in contact and John thinks it might have to do something with the she-demon’s power trapped inside Dave. Dave is too busy relishing the way John feels around his fingers, how his thighs feel against his cock, how John’s breath catches with each push forward, how John’s skin tastes like salt and caramel, how John pushes back against him.

“John,” Dave whispers in that prayer-like voice that makes John’s entire body shudder. He adjusts his position to spread his legs as far apart as they can in the jeans.

“Please, Dave.”

And that’s all he needs to remove his hand and slick his cock up with a couple of pumps, only feeding the fire growing in his core. He presses the head of his cock against John and slowly sinks down with a sigh of bliss. He pauses momentarily with his body flushed against John’s, kissing John’s skin anywhere he can reach before grabbing John’s hips and using the leverage to slide most of the way back out. He pulls on him to slide back in, letting his cock fill John up again.

John moans against the wall and he can feel Dave’s growl along his back. Slowly Dave begins to ramp up his movements until their harsh breathing is competing with the slick slap of skin and the breathy sounds coming from John’s voice. Dave’s body feels like it is on fire as the she-demon’s energy finally finds release. John is buzzing as he catches the residuals, making him tighten around Dave’s cock. Dave keens against John’s skin, his breath hot. He pistons his hips in and out, faster and harder to the near constant panting moans that echo off of the walls of the hallway.

Dave’s shoulders press against John’s back and press him against the concrete block to hold him in place as if Dave is trying to stay true to his word and make an imprint of him against it. John’s hips roll back against the column of hot flesh penetrating his body, feeling like it’s trying to set him on fire from the inside. His own cock weeps precum as it bounces with every thrust Dave gives him.

John feels almost delirious between the pleasure, the lust energy, and Dave’s heat. He finally realizes that instead of moans, he has slipped into chanting Dave’s name which only seems to egg Dave on. Each thrust is now jarring and makes John sees stars. He can barely feel Dave move one of his hands until his cock is wrapped up in that delicious heat. Dave just has to stroke him once, twice, and then he’s gone with a hoarse shout of Dave’s name.

His body clenches down around Dave causing the demon tip over the edge of his own release. John cries out again as heat splashes against his insides. Dave’s hands are clamped down on his hips and his sharp teeth sink down into the muscle along John’s shoulder, making the taste of iron burst against his tongue. They shudder together through their orgasms, leaning heavily against the wall.

Dave laps at the new but already healing wound as he tries to catch his breath. John curls a hand over where Dave’s is resting on his hip. The silence starts to get heavy just before they hear a sound from down the end of the hall. In an instant both of them snap apart and scramble around to get their clothes back in place. They glance at each other wide eyed as they hear footsteps down one end. Together with a laugh they take off in the other direction. They pound down the hall with a confused “Who’s there?” floating after them until they find a door leading out of the building. They let it slam close behind them and fall against the wall in more breathless laughter.

“Holy... we just did that. We just had sex in the back hall of a mall. Oh my gosh.”

“Hah, that’s what you get for hanging out with a demon like me.”

“I’m the one who dragged you to the mall.”

“And I’m the one who ruined your pants.”

“That was my demon hunt.”

“I had the lust over me.”

“Why am I even arguing with you? Of course it’s your fault. You are the scary demon from Hell.”

“Scary? Have you seen how you wield that hammer? Like fucking hell that shit is scary.”

“It was on hand. And I’m used to them from work.” John shrugs casually.

“And it just happened to be lying there.”

“Like you just happened to have a bottle of lube?”

“Hey, that wasn’t mine.”

“What?” John looks over at him confused. In the bright sunlight, Dave looks normal again. His hair is duller, his tattoos are almost not visible, his teeth are blunt, and his eyes are a dull rust brown behind the aviator shades.

“Not my lube.”

“Well it sure isn’t mine.”

“Duh.”

“Well then whose is it?”

“Probably Bro’s.”

“What?”

“Yea. Pretty sure. He likes to pull that shit. I’ve seen him do it to Dirk a couple times.”

John pauses and just blinks at Dave waiting for the punchline. When it doesn’t come he asks, “Why did Bro send you lube? I mean, why then? Did he... does he... can he see us?”

“Well, actually I marked you with this special ex-angel sigil thing that’s a sign to all of Hell that I’ve been boning you and it sends out an emergency flare whenever I need lube.”

“What?”

“It’s permanent.”

“What? No no no.”

“You’re doomed to be labeled as the son of Lucifer’s sextoy for all eternity.”

“No, this can’t be happening.”

“Woe is you, your soul is mine.” Dave looks over at him with a smirk.

“You have to be joking.”

Dave just smiles. John punches him in the arm.

“Ow! Okay, okay, yea I’m lying. Except about Bro. I’m pretty sure he can’t actually watch us,” his voice is tinged with doubt, “but he gets a pretty good idea on what we are all up to. He’s pretty heavy on the micromanaging.”

“Oh my god.” John buries his face into his hands.

“Hey, it’s not that bad.” Dave reaches over and pulls John’s hands away with one hand and grabs his chin with the other. “In fact, it was pretty good, wasn’t it?”

John blushes madly as he thinks about what just transpired. “Uh... yea... I mean, yes, it felt good. Really good. Even for my first time.”

“I’m just that good.” Dave smiles and John just wants to knock that smirk of his face so he does. With his lips.

They come up for breath a couple minutes later and carefully climb to their feet. John winces at his stiffness and at the messy feeling of the lube and cum.

“I need a shower.”

“Yea, me too. I guess today wasn’t a good shopping day.”

“You still owe me a pair of pants.”

“Fine.”


	3. Arc 3 - Settling In

They make it back to the Egbert residence without any further incident. The talisman in John’s pocket stays quiet except for the constant subtle throb from Dave’s presence. They find a note from John’s father that he is out and will be until late with some work.

“Work? Does he mean...?”

“Yea, probably out hunting. This place is crawling with them.”

“Makes sense actually. They tend to collect in cities and this place has both a city environment and one of the thirteen gateways.”

“Thirteen?”

“The major ones. They are all around the globe. Got some famous ones like the Mediterranean and Australia. Big nasties tend to return from those. There are a lot of little cracks that some demons use if they know the right information, but usually they head straight to the gates. The newbies can form anywhere though. Sin isn’t bound by geography. But again it is drawn to certain places more such as cities for the higher population densities. It’s easier to influence large numbers. And probabilities are on Sin’s side. All that combines to make this a very target rich area.”

“You would think that little fact would be something my dad would’ve told me about.”

“Seems like you’re missing a lot of the demon hunting one oh one.”

“It does.” John frowns as they head up to his room. “I’ll have to talk about that with him later. But first, shower.”

“I can help with that.” Dave teases.

“You are part of the cause.” John pushes him away as Dave tries to follow him into the bathroom.

“But John, I could clean you with my wicked tongue.” Dave licks his lips as he waggles his eyebrows. John just laughs at the combined look until Dave scowls at his rejection.

“Just go... play on the internet or something,” John says breathily.

“I feel the love here, John. Feeling the love.”

John rolls his eyes at him and shuts the door in his face.  Dave shrugs and goes back to John’s room, flopping backwards onto the bed. He frowns when he feels something under his ass. When he goes to try to move it, he finds that it’s a cellphone in his pocket.

TG : sup bro  
}:-| : You didn’t check in last night.  
TG : you knew exactly where i was.  
}:-| : You were supposed to check in.  
TG : fuck off  
}:-| : Having too much fun with your new toy.  
TG : hes not a toy  
}:-| : You said he was.  
TG : oh my fuck  
TG : i didnt mean it like that and i wasnt saying it to you  
TG : stop fucking eavesdropping on me  
}:-| : How else am I supposed to keep tabs on you when you don’t call home.  
}:-| : And you haven’t thanked me for the lube.  
TG : bro you utter dick  
TG : and fuck you for that  
}:-| : Actually I think you fucked him with that.

Dave grips the phone with the urge to chuck it across the room. He doesn’t really want to have this conversation. In fact, this was the exact reason he didn’t bring his cellphone and didn’t check in with his guardian.

}:-| : You break it, you buy it.  
TG : leave me alone  
}:-| : What fun is that.  
}:-| : And when can I meet my future bro-in-law.  
TG : never  
TG : he isnt going to hell  
}:-| : So you don’t deny that he’s going to be my bro-in-law.  
}:-| : And Rose is saying differently.  
TG : fuck you  
TG : fuck you with a rake  
}:-| : You know. I haven’t tried that.  
TG : and fucking leave him alone  
}:-| : Does he even realize he’s almost bonded to you.  
}:-| : He hasn’t even asked me for your hand.  
}:-| : And he’s about to pop the big question.  
}:-| : Though it’s less of a question than a command.  
}:-| : You are about to be his bitch.  
TG : leave us alone  
TG : i hate you  
TG : how i even stayed in hell so long with you  
TG : is beyond me  
TG : i should have clawed my face off eons ago  
TG : and you wonder why i am so fucking eager to leave  
}:-| : You know I worry about you because I care.  
TG : if you werent always such an ass i might actually believe that  
}:-| : And then you go and get involved with an angel touched.  
TG : i know what i am doing  
}:-| : Just be careful not to  
}:-| : Fine.  
}:-| : I’m just going to owe you a ‘I told you so.’  
TG: fuck off

Dave shuts the phone off and tosses it over his shoulder just as John comes back in looking much refreshed with one towel on his head and the other wrapped around his waist.

“Your turn.”

“Oh goody,” Dave answers darkly.

“You alright there, Dave?” John asks with a concerned glance from under the towel he is using to dry his hair. Water droplets cling to his skin and roll down his chest where he’s missed it with a towel.

“Yea, sorry.” Dave shakes his head to clear it. “Just had a conversation with an unseemly character who likes to get under my skin.”

“Oh.”

Dave pushes up from the bed, sauntering over to where John is standing. Dave notes how different he looks without his glasses on, finding them hooked on his towel instead. Dave grabs his hips and pulls him close as he tilts his head to lick some of the water off of John’s neck.

“Ugh you are sweaty and going to get me dirty again.” John pushes at Dave’s chest to keep him off.

“I’d love to get you dirty, John. Love to do dirty things with you.”

“Dave! No! Not what I meant.”

“Oh, I know what you meant.” Dave slides his hands down to cup John’s ass through the towel. John squeaks as Dave squeezes, making him jump towards him. “I just took it a totally different way.”

“Obviously,” John rolls his eyes at the demon. “But no touching until you take a shower.”

“Then I can touch.”

“Then we’ll see.”

“How is that fair?”

“Because I say so.” He shoves Dave off and pushes him towards the door. Dave pauses at the door frame to look back at where John is undoing the towel at his waist. He lets out a wolf whistle which gets him another eye roll. He laughs to himself as he turns away only to yelp loudly at the snap of a towel against his ass. He whips back around to find John grinning madly. With a single finger salute, Dave heads to the bathroom.

The room is still filled with steam from the previous shower. Dave can smell the soap and shampoo John used. Fresh Rain and Head and Shoulders. He also smells something underneath that which was very uniquely John. Dave breathes in deeply before realizing that it could be construed as stalkerish. But he can’t deny the spike of pleasure that runs through him. And it’s more than just remembering the mall.

He quickly strips and steps into the shower. The hottest setting still feels cool against his hot skin despite the billows of steam filling the room. He quickly goes through the motions and uses the same products that John did.

He steps out of the shower shortly and looks around for a towel. Of course he had just seen John using both of them and there aren’t any spares laying around. He groans to himself then closes his eyes and concentrates to boost his temperature until the water on his skin evaporates into the air. There is still a thin sheen left on his skin so he doesn’t redress. If John didn’t want him walking around naked, he should have provided guest towels.

John looks up just as Dave reenters the room.  Dave can feels his eyes rake up and down his body. That spike of pleasure comes back, sharply. Dave’s body reacts to John’s look, John’s scent of arousal, and the echoes of the lust energy still resounding in his body. The gleam in John’s eyes turns predatory. Dave smirks and that throws John into motion, tossing off the towel on his shoulders and crossing the distance between them. He grabs Dave’s shoulders and presses him against the wall in a fierce kiss. His entire body is flush against Dave’s with only his boxers between them. John’s blunt teeth pull and nip at his lips. His hands slide down to his chest to flick over Dave’s nipples making him gasp. John takes the opportunity to move down to Dave’s neck. He sucks along his pulse point until Dave grabs him back. Then he shifts his attack to his earlobe making him lose focus on his counter attack.

“John!”

John answers by slipping a leg between Dave’s. Their erections press against together through the thin fabric. Dave moans and tries to get some control back but the way John keeps attacking different areas on him keeps him from corralling his thoughts. Just when he thinks that John cannot find another part of his body which to attack between his mouth working his head and shoulders, one hand roaming his chest, and the other wrapped around Dave’s cock, smearing the precum over the head with his palm, John roughly pulls him away from the door and throws him onto the bed.

Dave hits hard enough to bounce once before settling on the sheets. He shivers when John soon follows, crawling up over his body. Dave only notices that he is without boxers when he drops his hips against Dave’s.

“Oh fuck.”

“It’s my turn.” Dave can’t help but arch up against John at the way those words shoot through him, the pleasure laced with lust. John shifts his weight to his knees straddled over Dave’s thighs to free up his hands. One hand crosses over Dave’s chest, teasing a nipple and drawing lazy patterns that mimic the dark tattoos on his shoulders. The other hand slides up to Dave’s chin, tipping his head up to catch another deep kiss. Dave marvels at how John dominates the kiss, sending shivers down his spine as John’s tongue explores his mouth. The pressure against his lips pushes him deeper against the bed. Dave goes wild at the feeling of John’s weight settling against him, trapping him down. John runs the tip of his tongue over the sharp points of Dave’s teeth as Dave’s tattoos flush darkly and his damp hair pales further.

Dave reaches up and grabs his shoulders. John hisses slightly as Dave’s nails prick his skin. In retaliation, John bites down on his lower lip and pulls it away with a snap, making Dave arch up off the bed towards him with a sharp moan of arousal. John reaches over to the side and grabs a small bottle. Dave stifles back a laugh as he recognizes it, but it soon turns into a gasp as John grabs Dave’s hip to roll him over, repinning him quickly with a hand to the center of his back.  Once John is certain that Dave would stay that way, he shifts his hands to grab Dave’s hips and pull them up. John raises Dave’s ass up for easy access which he takes advantage of quickly with slick fingers.

“Ah! John! Fuck.” Dave clenches his fists as John presses into him, thoroughly enjoying the way John has taken control over the situation, over him. “Please, John. Fuck. me”

“That’s what I am trying to get to.” John scissors his fingers to stretch him out. Dave moans at the slight burn as he quickly adds a third finger. Dave is hanging almost painfully hard underneath, the precum gathering at the tip as it points towards the bed. John works all three in up to the knuckles before sliding back out. He slides his hand back and forth until Dave is nearly bucking on the bed with pleasure.

“Please, John, please. Fuck. I want you. I...” his voice stops dead in his throat. John pulls his fingers out and shifts so that he is lined up behind Dave. The tip of his cock brushes against Dave’s stretched entrance teasingly before John steadies it with a slick hand.

“Tell me, Dave.” Hearing Dave say those words makes something in John clench up with pleasure and desire. Dave said similar both back at the warehouse and in the back hallway of the mall. Six hot words that John wants to hear again. Over and over if he is to be completely honest with himself. “Tell me what you were about to say.”

Dave violently shakes his head against the sheets, trying to stay in control of his voice and thoughts.

“Please, Dave.” John pushes the head of his cock in, pushes past the stretched ring of muscle. “Say it for me.”

“Fuck. John. I... I want you. I need you.”

John pushes all the way forward as he grabs and pulls Dave’s hips back onto him. Dave cries out as their bodies come together. John can feel a tingling sensation on the left side of his chest just above his heart. Dave’s skin flares with a faint blue light that rings around his neck and wrists. A red flash follows as John’s tingling subsides and as John glances down he sees the jagged outline of a circle before it fades. But all that is forgotten as he gasps at the heat that engulfs his cock.

Instead he focuses on how Dave feels below him tight and hot around his cock. It’s like nothing he’s ever experienced before. He holds himself still until Dave relaxes as Dave had done for him at mall. His hands dig into Dave’s hips and he bites his lip against the instinct just to thrust into the heat around him.

“John, please, oh please fuck me. Please!”

Dave’s begging breaks down any restraint John was holding onto. John moans loudly as he slides back only to pull Dave back onto him as he presses forward again. He slowly ramps up the speed with Dave’s encouragement.

“Faster, John, harder. Oh fuck yes, fuck me!”

He slams again and again into Dave, leveraging himself against his hips and works his cock in and out of the hot demon. He drinks in the moans that he draws out and adds his own to the mix. Pleasure quickly builds up inside him as he grips Dave’s shaking shoulders and pulls him upright. Their bodies burn at each other’s contact as John continues to slam into him, each thrust sliding deep and making Dave’s cock jump. John’s arms wrap around his torso as his lips find the soft skin of his neck. Dave reaches back and cups John’s ass with one hand, feeling the way John’s muscles flex to thrust into him, and wraps his other hand around the back of John’s neck, trying to ground himself against the onslaught of pleasure.

“Dave, Dave, Dave,” John murmurs into his neck. “Say it again.”

“Oh fuck, John. I want you. I need you.” The blue and red lights flare up. “John!” His whole body trembles as a surge of energy rushes through him, a mixture of lust and pleasure from sources Dave can’t locate.

“Again.”

“I want you.” John pulls him tight and shoves his upper torso down to get a deep angle into him. “I need you.” The tingling on John’s chest returns with the light. John fucks him hard and deep until Dave swears he is going to fuck him straight through the bed. His cock brushes against the sheets. “I want you. I need you,” Dave croons as the lit marks flare up again, the ones on his neck intertwining with his tattoos. His dick aches for release from the pleasure built from his natural attraction to John, the echoes from the lust energy, and the new signature that scorches his skin, burning more pleasure across his body.

Dave rocks back against John, meeting his rhythm thrust for thrust. He pushes as much as he can against the soft bed. He grips the sheets as John uses long smooth strokes. The smack of John’s thighs against Dave’s ass are lost under the nearly constant moans and strung together words that pour out like nonsense from Dave’s mouth when he isn’t being pressed down into the mattress by John’s hand on his back.

Each new angle gives Dave a different pleasure as John continues to fuck him until John shifts down over him where his body is pressed along Dave’s spine. John lays down a trail of kisses along his shoulder blade up to his ear, all the while maintaining the strong rhythmic thrusts against Dave’s ass.

“Dave,” his voice is soft, dark, and sultry, “Mine.”

Dave’s body stiffens sharply as the word violently shoves him over the edge. He comes on top of the sheets. The tightness around John’s cock paired with the flash of pleasure starting on his chest pulls John along with him as their orgasms crash through them.  Both of them clutch the sheets for stability and gasp for breath as they lose themselves in pleasure.

John falls down onto Dave first who just moans as the movement jostles John’s cock inside of him. John’s front is now particularly warm from contact with Dave, but he can’t be bothered to roll over until Dave manages to shove him off with a twist of his shoulder. He rolls to the side and slides out of Dave, garnering gasps of breath from both of them from overstimulation.

“Wow,” John pants, “that was incredible.” He gulps at air as the tingling in his limbs slowly draws back to just his fingertips. He can hear Dave breathing heavily next to him but not saying anything back. “Right? I mean I did okay, right?”

“What? Yeah, oh course.”

“Then why are you frowning?”

“I’m not frowning.”

“You’re not smiling.”

“What? Oh fuck, I was just thinking about something... but no that was fantastic,” Dave pushes himself up enough to look directly at John. “It was awesome, mind blowing, A plus plus plus, needs a higher ranked letter than A. It was incredible, eleven out of ten would do again, hope to do again. As soon as I can remember for to stand again, I will get on my knees and beg for it to happen again. It was fantastic. It was awe-”

“Now you’re repeating yourself,” John cuts him off. He rolls on his side too to meet Dave halfway for a kiss before Dave shoves him back down. “How can you make that many words come out so fast anyways? Like five seconds ago you were a moaning mess.”

“This mouth never stops. Number one complaint filed against me. Rambling runaway trains of garbage thoughts that like to get in the way of the important shit I need to say.”

“Like why you were frowning. What were you thinking so hard about? What could you possibly be thinking so hard about after ‘fantastic’ sex?”

“It was fantastic; don’t air quote that shit.”

“Whatever. What was on your mind?”

“Bro’s never going to let me hear the end of this.”

“Huh?”

“Did you miss the light show?”

“Oh yea.” John muses for a second. “Did that not happen the first time around? Did I do something wrong?”

“No. Oh my fuck. I can’t believe I just did that. Shit fuck. I just bound myself to this angel touched dork of a boy.”

“What now? My brain no worky right now and definitely not as fast as yours.”

“No shit. Apparently mine doesn’t work either when I’m getting mauled by you and your buck teeth.” Dave flops back down onto the bed.

“Hey!”

“That was a compliment.”

“Didn’t sound like one.” John rolls over just enough to look at Dave who is still face down towards the bed. “But really. What happened?”

Dave lifts his head up enough to throw John a baleful eye. “I want you. I need you.” John watches in wonder as blue marks light up on Dave’s skin around his neck and on the wrist that he can see between them. At the same time he feels his own red mark start to glow on his chest. “I’ve fucking bound myself to you.”

The new phone buzzes itself off the bed.

 


	4. Arc 4 - Envy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Violent, gore, dismemberment, and death (of npcs not main characters)

Dave is only able to explain a little about what had happened. He has never been bound before and hadn’t planned on it so he never looked into what it meant. He promises John that he will call his brother up and ask in the morning. Until then, Dave assures him that it is only beneficial to humans and won’t hurt demons.

“It’s like what the name says. I’m bound to you. We have a bond. You got a mark there,” Dave taps John on the chest. “And I’ve got mine.” He rubs his neck. “Bro’s gonna kill me.”

“Is that why your phone keeps going off? Are you going to answer that-”

“Nope,” Dave answers quickly. “Never. In fact, could you do me a favor real quick, John, and just go get one of your hammers? Because I need you to bash my skull in.”

“Not gonna do it.” John takes Dave’s face into his hands and kisses his forehead and then his lips. “I think I’ll keep you around to see what this does for me.”

“Bastard.”

“Dude, you know my dad.”

Dave knocks John away and buries his face into the pillow with the intent to smother himself. “Fucking angel touched. Fricken bond. You’re a fucking moron, Dave.” The sound is muffled but John laughs anyways at the grumbled complaints.

* * *

When they finally get out of bed, Dave takes another quick shower, this time making sure that he has towels waiting for him when he got out. John goes downstairs to cook up some dinner.

Dave finds him working at the stove. Instead of making his presence known, Dave leans up against the door frame and watches him work. John had elected to go without a shirt but did put on a pair of light blue jeans that hang on his waist. Dave stares at the dimples of Venus with an itch in his thumbs. John is well muscled with only a thin layer of fat probably from eating so well, if Dave’s memory of James Egbert is still accurate. From the way the food smells, Dave assumes that he passed those skills onto his son.

Dave notices some long pink marks along his back and a series of similar spots on one shoulder. Scars from his hunts. A feeling of protective anger blooms inside of Dave.

John suddenly turns around.

“Hi, Dave. What are you doing lurking over there?”

“Admiring the view, John. Admiring the view.” He saunters over as John just laughs at him and returns to cooking. Dave slides up behind him with hands on his waist and his chin on his shoulder after brushing his lips over those puncture wound scars. “God that smells delicious.”

“I’m glad. I have no idea what dem- ex-angels eat.”

“We eat anything you can eat.”

“Well, that makes it easy.”

They go on to talk about favorite foods and what John should cook for Dave since he’s had to suffer the shitty chinese take-out that Bro imports down to hell for the past two decade or so. They move to the table when John serves three plates, wrapping the third with foil and setting it in the fridge.

They end up on the topic of movies and John learns that yes, they get cable down in Hell and they can stream all of the newest movies.

“I thought you said you didn’t party down in Hell!”

“Well okay, we don’t party with the damned. We aren’t Sinners, we just aren’t fucking pious. Between hunts we like to indulge ourselves.”

“How many are there? Agents of Hell I mean.”

“A lot. I don’t really keep track of them all. And don’t get me started on the family trees, it’s complicated as shit mostly from people not being able to keep it in their pants.”

“Sounds like Zeus.”

“Yea, he’s a big part of the problem.”

“Wait. I was making a literary reference.”

“Those stories didn’t come from nowhere.”

“He’s real?”

“Most of them are. Though they really hyped up their own legends until Bro banned them.”

John just stares at him across the table, jaw open and the next bite of food hanging on the unmoving fork. Dave ignores him in favor of stuffing more food into his mouth.

John’s stunned reverie is broken by the sound of the outside door in the laundry room opening and closing. Moment’s later James comes through the kitchen door in loose workout pants and a ratty bathrobe thrown over his shoulder.

“Oh, good evening, boys.”

“Dad, you’re home early!”

“Yes, managed to catch the beast quickly. Though it was a bloody fellow. Thankfully I am in the habit of putting the clothes directly into the washer,” the machine startles to life in the background almost as if on command. “I’ve had to perfect the art of removing blood and the like from my clothes over the years,” he explains to Dave, who only gives him a glance over his nearly emptied plate of food. John quickly scrambles to his feet to grab the cooling plate of food from the fridge. He reheats it as James pours himself a drink. He pours a second tumbler of whiskey when he sees Dave eyeing the amber liquid. He takes a third seat with the two drinks as John brings the food over to the table.

“Smells like a Wrath,” Dave offers conversationally.

“Is that what it was? I couldn’t decide between Wrath and Pride.”

“It had red eyes right?”

“Why, yes, I do believe that it did.”

“Pride usually goes for gold or blue. Everyone thinks to go to red when they are angry. Well not that they have much mental capacity at that point, but it still stands.”

“I agree on that point. The beast basically impaled himself coming after me. And then he drip- such stories are not appropriate for the dinner table. Forgive me.”

“Aw, really? Gonna deny me the juicy details. I’ve always found the innards interesting when they end up shifting.”

“David.”

“Right, right.” Dave leans back in the wooden chair and nurses his whiskey.

“Oh! We met a Lust today at the mall,” John cheers as he brings James’ plate over.

“Really? That forward?”

“Recently made, or at least that’s what Dave says.” John glances over to Dave for confirmation.

“Hey you are the one who found her. I’m not the little device that goes _ding_ around sinny stuff. But yea, newly formed. Definitely smelt like a noob.”

“Noob?”

“But I don’t think she got anything, well, anything besides maybe a few sales,” John continues on. “We chased her into the back and I took her out.”

“Wow, way to minimize all the shit that I did.”

“What? I did all the hard labor.”

“I absorbed all of her energy that would have turned you into a mindless chimpanzee who only thought with his dick.”

“Okay, sure, Dave helped a bit.”

“Helped a bit?” Dave stares incredulously at John. “You weren’t the one who got a dick harder than diamonds from the whole thing. Though making intense love against the wall to blow off steam, aka Lust demon energy, wasn’t a bad way to end the hunt.” He takes great pleasure in how red John’s face gets. “But seriously, Jimmy, way to go. He’s even more arrogant than you.”

“He still has a way to go obviously, hasn’t reached your level yet, David,” James snipes back.

“And he won’t. Not with me to take his ass to school.” Both Egberts give him a look that is eerily similar that has him retreating to his whiskey.

“Like you could take me, Dave. You even said I was scary with the hammer.”

“Sure, you did some nice pounding. On your bed too,” Dave recovers.

“Dave! I said-”

“You don’t have to give your dad the details but I’ve never promised anything.”

“No, nothing particularly important, just your soul through that bond thing.”

“Really, you are going to bring that up? You were the one who begged me to say it, threatening to withhold-”

“Dave!”

James coughs softly to the side. “I hate to interrupt, but I must respectfully request the two of you get a room if this is going to progress further.

“Dad! St-stop it.” Dave watches as John’s face gets impossibly darker. He stands up suddenly, pushing his chair away from the table with a scrape against the floor. “I-I have to go get some milk, okay? We’re almost out!” He flees from the kitchen.

“Put on a shirt first, Egbert!” Dave calls out after him, snickering as he hears a faint exclamation. As he hears the front door slam shut, Dave returns his focus to James.

“Bond?”

“Ah, not a big deal. It’s a Hell thing. Not harmful I promise, you don’t have to get your shotgun out.”

“It better not hurt my son. He’s all that I have.”

“You’ve done pretty well for yourself over the years. Still balancing out the work life and demon hunting I see. Thought you would have given it up with a kid under your wing.”

“A good man cannot do nothing.”

“You’ve done enough.”

“Not all that I could.”

Dave doesn’t respond to the dark tone, sensing the other man’s emotions. He instead gets to his feet, grabs the bottle of liquor, and pours fresh amber liquid.

“He’s a good kid. He’s Untouched. Though you might want to watch out for that Wrathful streak in you as warranted as it might be.”

“Thank you.”

They fall into companionable silence with only the clink of ice against the glass to mark the passing of time.

Then suddenly things are crashing to the ground after being knocked to the floor by sweeping black wings. James has to bring his arms up quickly to keep from getting a faceful of dark feathers.

“John!” Dave’s shout is primal, filled with anger and fear. The blue marks reappear around his neck and wrists in bright contrast against his skin. _I need you._ He can hear the words as clearly as if John was standing in front of him. He feels the sharp tug on his body as he spins to face the invisible pull. “John!”

“Dave, what about John? What’s going on?”

“I have to get to him.” Dave dashes for the door but is stopped by an iron grip on his wrist. “Let go of me!”

“Dave, tell me.”

“They have him,” he answers without knowing how he knows that, “and I fucking need to get to him. Now.” His eyes flicker dangerously as he finally looks down at James. Dave’s teeth are bared and the pitch of his voice lowers to a feral snarl.  “Let me go before you lose your wrist.”

“We can take my car.”

“I can fucking fly.” The wings in question lash out, taking out another plate.

“It’s not sunset yet. A black angel is hard to hide and will draw all the wrong attention. Get in the car.”

“Fuck you.”

“Get in the car and we will save my son.”

He watches the conflict on Dave’s face as he weighs his options knowing that James is right about the attention but also knowing that John needs him and needs him now.

“You better still drive fast, old man.”

James only lets go of his wrist when he sees Dave’s wings fold back up. He immediately goes to the laundry room and puts on a fresh change of clothes. Dave follows closely behind him, twitching and continuously turning towards that phantom pull. His wings continue to brush into the household objects but manage to refrain from knocking anything over. By the time they get out to the car, Dave has put them fully away.

James burns a bit of rubber as Dave gestures to the direction that he feels John in. He feels the distance grow and then stabilize as they speed down down the road. Whoever had John is traveling with him. Dave keeps his head facing that direction as James navigates the streets. He twitches every time James has to turn, mentally cursing him for not being able to fly straight over all of the buildings in his way.

“Just like old times, huh? Except now you actually have a real car instead of that piece of shit that I swore was gonna vibrate itself apart and smelled like sweat socks and sex even though I know you totally didn’t get some in that junk heap because any girl you managed to convince to get in the car would not be taking off any piece of clothing for fear of getting tetanus or some bacterial disease that I know was growing in those upholstered seats thriving on spilt soda and fossilized french fries and fucking hell why haven’t you shut me up yet?”

“It was a good car.”

Dave perks up. “They’ve stopped. Or at least we are getting closer.”

“Just point out the direction.” Dave actually does what he says and sticks his hand out in the direction of the pull.

“I could be there already,” he growls under his breath.

“I’m sure you would have with your face on the internet the next day. I’m sure Luci- Bro,” James shakes his head at the name, “wouldn’t appreciate that.”

“I know. I fucking know. But it doesn’t make it any easi-” Dave breaks off with a harsh growl. “I’m gonna kill them.”

“Is John alright?”

“Still alive. Just-” James can hear the creak of metal straining under Dave’s grip. “They are dead. They are dead for hurting him. Every ounce of pain will be magnified before I send them to hell.”

Dave’s hand swings around as James makes to turn around the building in their path. It stays in that position as even as James around the next corner and he starts to frown as he turns the third.

“Dave, pay attention please.”

“I am!” he snarls back. “It’s in that direction! And still some distance away. Hurry it up and get me there.”

His arm stays in place, hovering over the console between them as James ends up where he started.

“Dave!”

“Fuck! I know, but I can feel him. I feel him that way. John!” _I need you._ It cuts across his brain again, clear as before. Dave’s wrist jerks upwards, painfully hitting the ceiling of the car.

It clicks in James’ head first. “He’s up in the building.” James leans against the window and sees that they have been circling a tall apartment building. He whips over into the nearest spot on the curb, making Dave jerk against the window. They both get out of the car and race towards the nearest entrance. James stalls when he sees the electric lock system. Dave tries grabbing the metal bars but they are locked in place. Frustrated he pounds his fist against the wall before wrapping his hands around the bars. The metal groans under the pressure.

Then James notices an edge of white sticking out of Dave’s back pocket. He grabs for it with a cry of indignation from Dave but finds that it’s a keycard. He quickly palms it against the panel and the gate leaps open under Dave’s pull. The card is used again in the elevator to get to activate the top floor.

“Push the button when you feel him.” Dave nods and closes his eyes to concentrate. He feels the phantom aches of a backhand across his cheeks and grinds his teeth against the sensation of falling onto carpet without being able to catch himself. The phantom boot to his gut makes him growl, but he shakes his head when James’ hand hovers over the button. He tries to ignore them to concentrate on the location.

“Top floor,” he decides. “Penthouse. It reeks of Envy.” James nods in acknowledgement. Dave winces when he feels another blow. “When the door opens... stay out of the way.” He opens his eyes and stares at the black crease between the elevator doors. James catches how dark his tattoos are especially against the brightness of his hair and decides that he would let the enraged son of the Devil deal with the demons. Less likely to lose a limb that way.

The elevator slows and Dave tenses, timing his rush with the opening of the doors. His shoulders brush against the rubber. He uses his momentum to crash into the door. The snapping of wood brings every head around to him and there is a single still moment of pause before they react.

The apartment is lavish to the point of gaudy with almost every inch of wall covered with some piece of art around the wide case holding various objects with pictures frames next to each indicating who it was related to. The middle of the area is mostly taken up with an opulent white leather couch facing an LCD television which was larger than the entertainment system that tried to hold it. The air is thick with the stench of Envy covered with much too expensive perfumes.

There are about sixteen humanoid demons around the room draped in the most exquisite of fabrics that no doubt wear the top designer labels. The clothes fit their thin, bony frames poorly. Their faces are like masks made in parody of Hollywood’s body adjustments with protruding cheekbones and blank foreheads. Their hair is stringy and over styled, stiff with product and tortured with bleaching and fake color. Their eyes are sunken in, the pale green color of old dollar bills. Their teeth perfectly straight, shown off in botoxed smiles.

Several are scattered throughout the room but most are clustered around a bound form lying on his side next to the onyx and glass coffee table.

The sword is in his hand even before he made the conscious effort to draw it. They don’t have time to scream before the first one of their number is cut in half, the sickly dark green blood splattering the pristine condition of the leather couch. He spins and cuts at the second, the sludge flinging off the blue-white edge of the long black sword. A fleck lands on his third victim moments before Dave closes the short distance with a harsh thrust against her thin rib cage. The sick sound of bone crunching under metal finally spurs them into action. Some flee, some attack. Dave lashes out with one hand against a leaping man as he wrenches his blade out of the limp body. The man goes sailing away in a bloody mess, crashing into the coffee table and reducing it to shards and splinters. Dave whips the swords around and catches another demon at the neck. The head spins through the air to make a wet thump and a dark smear against one of the paintings.

Dave doesn’t register their screams of rage as they rush him. From all directions they try but only get so close before darkness blocks their vision in a whirl of feathers as Dave catches them with his wings. He finishes the spin with his outstretched sword taking another three down before a fourth latches onto the thin bone. He howls in pain as the demon grips the wing and tries to tear at it. He flings his wings up and tosses the demon in the air, catching the torso on his blade as it lands. Dave shrugs it to the side and kicks the body off of his sword.

Dave turns to find his next victim and sees one of the demons has grabbed the rope wrapped around John and is trying to tug him away. The cry that comes from Dave’s throat is not wholly human as he throws his sword in that direction. The blade sinks into it’s chest making it stumble back with a stunned expression before falling back. Dave doesn’t have time to retrieve his sword before another one leaps at his back. He pulls it over his head and snaps its neck in a single swift movement.

There is a quick dart of movement next to him and instinctively Dave grabs it. He can smell the fear rolling off the thin gaunt body over the stain of Envy on its soul.

“We want him!” it screeches, scratching wildly at the arm pinning it in place. Dave barely feels the sting as it draws blood. “We want him! We took him! He’s ours! We wan-” The words are cut off as Dave’s backhand dislocates its jaw. The blow stuns the demon and Dave takes the opportunity to grab and twist its neck, letting it fall limp to the floor.

_Dad!_

“Egbert, watch out!” Dave calls out without looking over as he deals with the next Envy trying to attack him, ripping off the swinging arm at the shoulder and silencing the resulting scream with a swift kick to the throat. He turns just in time to catch sight of James stabbing down at the demon Dave had tossed at the coffee table with an unsheathed dueling cane. He catches the blue eyes and nods when James looks to John.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dave sees an Envy trying to flee. With a burst of speed. Dave intercepts its path. He grabs its shoulder and slams it into the nearby glass case. Several pieces fall out of the spiderwebbed cracks and onto her stiff hair.

“We want! Taste of heaven, taste of hell!” She shrieks. Her money colored eyes are wide and face flushed with the sickly green sludge that has replaced blood in her veins. “He is ours!”

Dave leans in close, ignoring how she reaches out to claw at his chest, a fake nail snapping off in his skin. “No,” he bares his sharp teeth, “he is mine.” The flare of blue around his neck reflects off the slimy blood on hers as he rips her throat out with his bare hands. The memorabilia behind the olive stained glass rattle as the body slumps down. The smiling faces of actors and actresses look sick in the filtered green light if they hadn’t already been knocked over from the impact.

Dave feels the phantom bindings fall away from his arms and assumes that James finally freed his son. A quick head count find fourteen dead and two missing. He closes his eyes and concentrates for a moment. The smell of Envy is too strong to pick out individuals but he hears movements from the back room. Quickly he stalks in that direction, his sword once again in his hand.

“Mine! Mine!”

“No, gimme!”

Two Envies are in the middle of the room in a small game of tug-of-war over a leather jacket. They ignore Dave as he approaches, focused more on getting the article from their brethren than running away from the impending danger.

Dave steps up and quickly slices the jacket in half sending both Envies sprawling back. With a loud hiss and a cry of “That half is bigger!” one of them leaps across the floor and tackles the other. Dave just rolls his eyes at the poor performance and brings the tip of his sword down into the back of the top one, effectively impaling both in one blow.

Dave closes his eyes to check the penthouse once more for any further danger but he can only hear the soft murmurs in the main room between father and son. He returns to the main room. Two pair of blue eyes flick over to him at once.

“It’s clear.” His voice is raspy. He shakes his whole body in an effort to clear his head. One of his wings twinges and a black feather falls to the ground. Sharp stinging along his arm and chest finally come to the forefront of his mind.

He ignores them once again when he sees the swelling under John’s eye. He crosses the room quickly to kneel in front of him, making James scramble out of the way of his wings.

“Are you okay?” Dave asks worriedly as he takes John’s face and as much as can of John’s sitting form. He doesn’t see any bleeding, just a couple spots where he he would be sporting some nice bruises. He knows of a couple more areas under the clothes where Dave had shared the hits.

“Dave! You’re bleeding!”

“John, tell me you are alright.”

“I’m fine. Their hits were weaker than my middle school bullies.” John flaps a hand at Dave as if that should brush all his worries away. “But you are hurt!”

Dave looks down at where the tip of the fingernail is sitting under his skin, letting a thin trail of blood down his chest. “I’m an agent of Hell. It’s going to take more than a fake fingernail to stop me, John.”

John gets on his knees anyways, face full of concern at Dave’s state. “And look at your arm! And they hurt your wing! Where else did they get you?” His hands are then on Dave’s skin looking for more injuries.

“I’m going to do a perimeter sweep,” James says quietly to the side though neither Dave nor John really pay attention, “now that he’s in your capable hands.” He pulls his dueling cane out of the dead Envy and walks to the front door.

“John,” Dave murmurs.

“Yea Dave?” John looks up with wide blue eyes and Dave’s breath catches in his throat. He throws his arms around John’s shoulders and pulls him in close, finally letting out a shaky exhale.

“John, damn it, John.” His voice still has some of the rasp to it but it has a gaspy tonality in it as he refrains from sobbing in relief at having the brunette in his arms. “You fucking dork. Don’t you ever do that to me again.”

“Dave,” it’s a comforting sigh of his name. “I could feel you... and I called for you when they grabbed me and I was kinda scared at first but I could feel you. And I could feel you getting closer, coming for me.”

“It felt like you had a cable wrapped around my heart and were tugging like mad...” He calms himself by threading his fingers through the back of John’s hair. “I could feel them hurting you,” the end of the statement came out like a growl.

“Well, that was probably my fault.”

Dave pulls him back and holds him at arms length. “What?”

“They weren’t going to hurt me I don’t think until I made them angry but really they shouldn’t be angry at the truth. They kept talking about how I was going to keep them safe how if they could take my ‘gifts’ they would be okay. They kept saying something about ‘touch of heaven, touch of hell’ and saying that they would take them. Sounded a bit like Gollum the way they were talking. But I had no idea what they were actually talking about and told them so and that kinda made them mad at me.”

Dave pulls him close again in an effort not to facepalm at John’s actions. “John. You are angel touched, you dipshit. And remember the whole discussion we just had about the light show and me being bound to you and how I am an agent of Hell?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“It’s not like they could have taken it if they tried, so they are still wrong.”

“See! I’m not totally-”

“But seriously, things are going to be attracted to you even more than before because you are touched on both sides.”

“I thought you were attracted to my great personality.”

“No, it was your perfect pearly whites and great ass. Don’t be stupid, John.”

“Whatever. You are still bleeding and now you are bleeding on me.”

“I guess it’s a good thing your dad knows a thing or two about getting blood out.”

“And you call me a dork,” John answers with soft tone of voice. “Come on, I’m pretty sure Dad has a couple rags in the car that we can use to keep you from bleeding on the seats.”

“How do you know he drove?” Dave asks as they climb to their feet.

"I don't think he climbed on your back to fly here, Dave. And you didn't run all the way here. Process of elimination."

"Fine, we did," Dave concedes. "I would have flown though," he grumbles lowly. He's surprised when John grabs his face and pulls him into a kiss. He quickly reciprocates, ignoring the shooting pain as he moves his wings to encircle them. They both relax into the kiss from relief and slight exhaustion. Dave rests his forehead against John's when they finally pull apart. "What was that for?"

"For coming to my rescue. You are my white knight on a white steed except you are more of a chocolate knight riding in Dad's blue sedan."

Dave smiles softly at John's dorky description. "For you, I'd be anything."

"Then let's be home so I can take care of you." John grabs his uninjured arm and pulls him to the front door just as green fire started to erupt and lick at the bodies, blood, and gore in the room.

* * *

All of Dave's wounds were superficial except the damage to his wing which he pulled out again when they were home to let John inspect.

When Dave comments on how proficient at first aid John is, James excuses himself from the room, begging an early night’s sleep with all of the excitement.

“I’ve had to play doctor to Dad since I was little. He gets a little over-zealous sometimes. But I guess you do too,” John comments wryly as he wraps a long bandage over Dave’ neosporin coated forearm.

“Can’t blame me.”

“Could you really feel them hit me?”

“Yeah.” Dave brushes a light thumb over John’s still slightly swollen cheek. “I mean, I’ve faced worse-”

“Me too.”

“But I don’t want anyone to hurt you.” He shakes off the dark tone, “Hate for them to permanently mess up your pretty face,” he finishes with a smirk.

“Pfft. You are the pretty one here.” The statement catches Dave off guard so he just sits quietly as John moves to the damaged part of the wing. John smooths out the feathers and works some ointment down to the skin underneath. His touch feels good against the wrenched joint. “This looks like it hurt,” John mentions, “so why didn’t I feel it? I mean, if you felt me getting hurt, shouldn’t I feel you get hurt?”

“Good question. Prolly something to do with the fact that I am bonded to you and not the other way around. I’ll ask the dickprince in the morning.”

“I have a bunch of questions for Dad in the morning too. And some for you too. But Dad’s right, we should probably get some sleep. Several rounds of demons can actually tire me out.”

“Not to mention the several rounds of sex,” Dave grins.

“Exactly. Now get your ass in my bed.”

“Christ, Egbert. You really know how to woo a guy.” Dave stretches his wings carefully before folding them behind his back. John watches in amazement as they just fade from sight.

“Is your wing going to be okay in...” John waves his hands, “wherever they go?”

“Probably better for it. Definitely better than you rolling onto them in your sleep.”

“Oh, yea.” John gently strokes the space between Dave’s shoulder blades where the wings just were. Dave shivers at the touch but holds still as John starts to trace over the dark curls of tattoos that drape across his back. John is still amazed at how much heat Dave is putting off even though he hasn’t had a shirt on for a long while. John just chalks it up to demon-y Hell stuff. The swoops and swirls cover the muscles on his shoulders and creep up to his hairline along his neck. Beyond it actually, John finds when he pushes his fingers through the shaggy white. Dave can’t help it when he tips his head back against John’s fingertips as John continues upward. Smiling, John starts scratching his scalp lightly with his fingernails.

Dave startles himself when he notices the soft thrumming noise coming from his throat. Hurriedly he pulls away from John’s hand.

“Aw, that was cute!”

“I am not cute. I am the Knight of Hell. Not cute.”

“Definitely cute.” John laughs at Dave’s frowning face. “Come on, let’s get up stairs before you get any cuter and make me be any more mushy in the middle of the kitchen.” He shoves Dave off of the stool and they head up the stairs.

“Oh yea, because you dad would just be so scandalized at the head scratching and tattoo tracing. And oh my god what if he sees me without a shirt!” Dave exclaims in a scandalized tone.

“Dave, do you ever actually wear a shirt? Do you even own a shirt?”

“Nope. I’m too pretty.”

Dave’s laughing when they reach John’s room and John shoves him roughly. Dave lets the push carry him to the bed where he turns at the last second to land on his back. He watches John strip out of his shirt and pants. He’s taken back to the early afternoon and licks his lips.

“You know, I’m not really feeling wooed here, John, even if you have managed to get me technically in bed. Where are my roses? A box of chocolates? Big shiny gemstones. Even a collar and leash would be more romantic.”

His smirk leaves John stuttering for a second before he recovers. “Well, I already do have a collar on you!”

Dave props himself up on his elbows to look at him. “Oh, yea. You mean this. I want you,” he says huskily, making the blue symbols light up around his neck and wrists, visible above the bandage.

“Yes that!”

Dave drops back onto the bed. “Yes, John. Slow clap for you,” his hands follow his words. “Truly you must be the next Fabio.” He drops his arms to the side. “You are the king of casanovas. I bow down to your glorious skills as a lover. You rival Shakespeare, nay! You dwarf his romantic abilities. I’m waxing poetic for you and your wooing ways. Catch me, I think I might swoon!” He dramatically drapes an arm across his forehead.

John crosses his arms and looks down at the demon. “Are you done?”

“I could continue if you like,” he answers as he looks up cheekily from under his arm.

“Nah, I think you made your point. I am the most awesome.” John grins down at him.

Dave grins back. “Course you are. Now come to bed, lover. I wanna cuddle.”

“Big bad Knight of Hell wants to cuddle?” John raises an eyebrow in his direction as he slips his glasses off and sets them on the nightstand. He hits the light and then blindly climbs onto the bed next to Dave.

“Cuddle me now, fucker.”

“Sure,” John finds his face and drops a couple kisses onto it before curling up next to Dave’s heat.


	5. Arc 5 (Part 1) - Explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry we're late posting. When did Friday get here?

They wake up the next morning to the smell of pancakes and coffee drifting up from the kitchen.

“Oh fuck, are those Egbert pancakes I am smelling?” Dave starts pushing at John who has both arms wrapped around his torso. “So help me, John, let me go. There are Egbert pancakes downstairs.”

“Huh? Wha?” John blinks up at Dave who pauses for a second to take in the soft sleepy expression. “Oh yea, panca...” He snuggles his face back into Dave’s side, arms still firmly in place.

“John. John, you don’t understand. Those aren’t just any pancakes. Those are Egbert pancakes. I haven’t had those since Vegas at least twenty years ago. Please, oh god, please let me go. I’ll do anything.”

“Mrrhmph.”

“I’m leaving you for the pancakes, John. I couldn’t stop myself. We couldn’t help it. We fell in love. We were highschool sweethearts. I never quite got over them. I wrote letters to them. All these years. You can’t keep up apart, John. Our love is fated, foretold in the stars.”

“Good lord, how can you talk that much?” John manages through a yawn. “Can barely form thoughts much less understand you.”

“John. Pancakes.”

“Fine.” John finally releases him and rolls over, frowning at the coolness of the new spot. He bunches the blankets up around him and Dave takes advantage of his new freedom and makes a dash for the door to get to the source of the heavenly scents.

“I love you, James Egbert,” Dave greets as he barrels into the kitchen like a kid on Christmas morning.

“You love my son and my cooking. Don’t kid yourself, Dave.”

“Yea, yea, gimme.”

With a roll of his eyes, James hands him the plate of finished pancakes before reaching for another empty one. Dave starts ripping them up and eating them right there instead of sitting at a table with silverware and syrup.

“So about your son,” Dave begins between mouthfuls, “how much does he know?” James remains silent as he flips the next batch of pancakes. “No, seriously. He seems kinda clueless about a lot.”

“I told him what he needed to know.”

“Oh like that doesn’t sound ominous.”

“I didn’t know that Hell would get involved in this matter.”

“So you just skipped that chapter? Why didn’t you tell him just in general? I mean, I get that it’s complicated as shit, but don’t you think he should know what he’s getting into? You’re sending him into a lot of unknowns and he’s unprepared.”

“Unprepared for what?” John asks through another yawn as he rubs his eyes under his glasses. “Actually, answer after coffee.” He shuffles with stiff movements over to the brewed pot.

James throws a stern glare at Dave who returns it with a shrug as he crams his mouth full with another chunk of pancakes.

“Okay, so,” John begins again after a few sips of his cream and coffee, “I get that Hell has two kind of demons. The baddies like what we fought yesterday. And those like my new roommate.” Dave tips an imaginary hat in his direction. “Not that hard of a concept.”

“See?”

“What I don’t get is what this has to do with me?”

“Well, for one thing, you are one _lucky_ son of a bitch.”

“David.”

“What?”

“Dude, he has her fingerprints all over him. It’s like a neon sign to those that are looking. It wasn’t quite coincidence that he found me, now was it?” James turns away from him in favor of depositing more pancakes onto a plate to hand to John. “So why did the Angel of Luck bless him?”

“Angel of Luck? Fingerprints? So when you say angel touched...”

“Yea, one of the feathery assholes came down and bopped you on the head.”

“Why?”

"I have no fucking clue right now. Don't even get me started on the assholes that run heaven they are a massive bunch of trolls." James makes a choked sound at Dave’s terminology. “Okay, but this brings up more questions. Why haven’t you told him about _heaven_?”

“Again, my own knowledge is limited. He was already growing up in a world full of monsters being real... giving him half-baked explanations that I don’t have answers to, and can’t get any answers to, would be dangerous.”

“So you don’t have much information and gave me less?” John’s tone is flat as he glares over his coffee at his father. Dave glances back and forth between the Egberts. “I have to learn everything through a demon instead of my father? And what are you even doing here?” He turns on Dave. “Why did I run into you if it wasn’t a coincidence?”

“Whoa, hey, see I was just taking a walk. To clear my head. Was kinda getting bogged down with duties and stuff. Being the Knight of Hell is kinda a big heavy deal. Hell gets complicated when you add in the fucking politics and I really didn’t want to make appearances and wear stupid fancy shit. The goddamned shirts always itch and make me feel claustrophobic and I thought I was getting away from that shit when Bro let me abdicate the throne to Dirk and so I was kinda running away from stuff, you know, just taking a breather on the other side when you happened to start chasing my ass down dark alleyways.”

“Wait... abdicate the throne... Dirk’s the prince... You are supposed to be the Prince of Hell?” John gapes at the demon.

“Though I guess it turned out alright, I mean, I’m eating Egbert pancakes again.” And to prove the point, he shove another handful of the breakfast into his mouth. Silence reigns until he swallows. “But really, when your sisters and step-mom are the fucking Fates then, well, Rose probably put the ruffles on that shirt knowing I’d run like Hell. As I said, complete bitch. Still love her though.”

“I need to sit down.” John frowns as he grabs his plate of pancakes and takes them to the table. Dave steals the next plate of pancakes before following John over to the table.

“So, why did you get into the family business, John? What made you take up demon hunting as a hobby?”

“Well, when Dad told me about how Mom died, I wanted to do something about it. At the time I was still kinda young so I just helped him out. Like doing the doctor stuff and cleaning the weapons and learning how to fight. Jade joined in too since she apparently had some magic. The white stuff, not black evil stuff. She tried to stop for a while after she got married, but I guess whatever touched me didn’t touch her. I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt like Mom or my brother-in-law Harley, so I really started to help out.”

“Huh,” Dave comments eloquently as he takes another huge bite of pancakes only to choke on it moments later as he nearly jumps out of his chair. John can hear the faint vibration of a phone as Dave fishes it out of his pocket. With watery eyes and slightly gasping breath he glares at the offending object, sure that he left it upstairs probably tucked under John’s bed where he didn’t have to bother with it.

“Is it Satan again?” John asks casually.

Dave unlocks the screen and stares at the lack of notifications on his phone. “Along some fashion, yes.”

“Oh, weren’t you going to call your brother about the other thing?”

“Yea, yea, I’ll get around to it.” He goes to set the phone down.

“Just do it now.”

“But pancakes,” Dave whines.

“You are already most of the way through your second plate. Just do it now so you don’t forget.”

“You are nagging me, John. Are you really going to be the nagging wife in this relationship?”

“I will nag your butt until it falls off if I have to, Dave. I am the nagging master.”

“I thought you were the master of seduction.”

“I have multiple disciplines. Now call your brother.”

“Fuck you.” Dave does as he asks and scrolls through the phone until he finds the entry ‘dickprince extraordinaire.’ Mentally Dave crosses his fingers and hopes he can just leave a voicemail but after three rings, it picks up.

“Sup.”

“Hey Dirk, got a couple questions for you. First big one, what does it mean to be bonded?”

“I didn’t think you were the type, Dave. Well, now that he or she is bonded to you, you have the ability to call them and demand of them whatever you so desire. It’s easier if they want it as well; you won’t have to exert as much influence. Damn, must be a real cutie for you to snag them up.”

“Ah, well... he’s not so much bound to me... but I’m kinda bound to him.”

There is silence on the line for a moment before it suddenly erupts into laughter. “Ha ha ha ha. Ah ha ha. Oh Hell, bro. Oh hell.” The laughter dies down. With a heavy sigh, “I’ll be there soon.”

“What? You don’t know where I am.”

“Bro just sent me your address and I have means of travel. I’ll be there soon.”

Dave sets the phone on the table and stares dejectedly at the remaining pancakes. Slowly he sweeps his eyes up to John who is waiting patiently for a report. “Kill me.”

“What? No. What did he say?”

“He’s on his way.”

“Why does he have to come here?”

“To gloat. To personally laugh in my face. To torture me. To humiliate me. The usual brotherly shit.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“David.”

“Yes, Jimmy?”

“Dave,” James corrects himself. “Did you just invite the Prince of Hell to my home?”

“Uhhh... He invited himself really...at the behest of the Devil.”

“I think I will take my leave instead of being caught up in the middle of this reunion. Please don’t destroy the house.”

“Hey, that was only one time and only one room.”

“What?” John exclaims as James sighs and heads upstairs.

“It’s a long story. Happened about twenty years-”

Dave’s next words are interrupted by a loud sharp pop from the backyard. Dave groans and John leans out of his seat as if to get a better view through the laundry room window. They hear a voice from outside.

“Damnit, Jake. Where are our clothes? You were supposed to transport those too.” There's a pause for a soft murmur as an answer. "I'll screw you against the side of the house later. Bring our clothes now so that we can go say hello to Dave."

"Davey's here!" a second voice cheers, the deep notes at odd with the happy tone. There is a second but quieter pop and the sound of rustling.

"Come in only when you are dressed." John watches expectantly as the laundry room door opens and someone comes in. “Sup, bro.”

John takes in the newcomers appearance. He has the palest skin John has ever seen. It is a creamy ivory that looks like silk pulled taut over the muscled arms that contrast with the loose sleeveless shirt. John can see shimmery gold tattoos at his shoulders with lines that make ninety degree angles with each other until they dissolve into tribal sweeps at his upper arms. The angular lines are continued up his neck and highlight his sharp cheekbones that lead to stunningly amber orange eyes. His hair is as white as Dave’s but styled in soft gravity defying spikes. His patently bored expression does not have any trace of the annoyance in his voice from the conversation outside.

He takes a step further into the room, leaving the doorframe that he seemed to fill. He moves with a liquid grace of long limbs and sure steps. He holds his head with a proud tilt as he regards the room and then dismisses it with no reaction beyond nonchalance. He brushes at something on his crisp blue-gray slacks, then returns to his attention to Dave.

“Fuck that was fast. How-”

“Jake.”

“Ah.” Dave sighs as if that explains everything. John looks between the two of them very confused. “Oh right, introductions. John, this is Dirk, are you still going by Strider, Dirk Strider, Prince of Hell, thankfully, and my brother. Dirk, this is John Egbert, demon hunter and... I guess boyfriend, if that’s alright with you, John.” Dave watches his face for a reaction and is pleased with the light blush that appears on John’s cheeks when he nods.

“Um... hi, Dirk! Or wait, do I have to call you something like Your Majesty or Your Highness or Your Princeliness? Should I bow to you? Dave, do I need to bow to him?”

“Are you of Court?” Dirk asks in counter.

“No? I dunno. Dave, am I with the... our thing?”

“Don’t bow to him. Don’t call him anything. Don’t feed his ego.”

“Fuck you too, bro.”

Dave just grins up at him.

“You two don’t look like brothers,” John points out the obvious.

“What you can’t see the family resemblance?” Dave climbs to his feet and slings an arm around Dirk’s shoulder, hanging awkwardly from the height advantage Dirk has on him. The contrast between dark mocha and near white skin could not be more pronounced. The only similarities John could see was the white hair and strangely colored eyes.

“Uhh...”

“He’s adopted,” Dave shrugs.

“Did you... Did you just make an Avengers reference?”

“Maybe. But it’s still true. He’s adopted into the family so that the Court would accept him taking the crown. Again, politics is complicated shit.”

“Okay?” John hesitantly agrees.

“So, Dirk, about this bond thing.” Dirk turns his head just enough to catch Dave in his peripherals. “You’ve had yours for a while, right?”

“Seventy years, give or take a few.”

“Anything I should know? Anything special about it?”

“Pain and suffering.” Dirk’s bland tone underscores his words in John’s mind.

“Ha ha, good one. It’s not... that bad, right?” Dave drags the last word out.

“Kill me.”

“Dirk!” Both John and Dave look back to the laundry room door. Dirk just bows his head. “Dirkums! Where’d you go?! Fiddlesticks... what’s that phrase... I need you!” John glances at the pale green light around Dirk’s neck. “Ah, I need you, you hellspawn. Where in tarnation did you get off to? I need you!” Dave’s arm is knocked off as Dirk is tugged backwards a half step as the green marks flash brightly with a matching set around his wrists.

“Fuck everything.” Dirk sighs heavily. “In here, Jake.”

Dave turns to look down the hall where the back door is thrown open with a bang. John leans around in his seat to get a better look.

His initial impression is an off colored Disney’s Aladdin. The baggy green silk pants are gathered at his waist and just below the knees by red silk ribbon. A loose gold vest flaps loosely over a well muscled chest adorned with thick curly hair. His skin tone was somewhere between Dave’s and John’s with a healthy sun-kissed glow. His dark windswept hair is brushed back away from his face in a wide sweep off to one side. Similar square glasses framed bright green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim laundry room. But the most stunning thing about him is his wide manic grin.

John also notices that he’s not wearing any shoes. John briefly wonders what his life has become now that he happens to be surrounded by people who can’t seem to keep themselves dressed.

“Dirky!” Thick arms wrap around Dirk’s shoulders as the green light flares up once more before fading back into his pale skin. “And Davey!” He rolls his head over to look at the dark demon.

“Nice to see you too, Jake. Hey, John, forgot to warn you. Don’t wish for anything out loud.”

“Why?”

“Oh! Who’s he? He’s new. Isn’t he? Dirk, I haven’t met him before. Right? I want to meet him. Can I meet him?” Jake shoves Dirk to the side where he stumbles into a cabinet before taking a leap towards John. John almost startles out of his chair and stares up at the hand extended down to him. He still grinning maniacally as John hesitantly takes his hand in greeting. His grip is strong and John fights back a wince. “Jake English, the one who will make your wildest wishes come true.”

“Uh, John Egbert, the one who is very confused.” He glances around Jake towards Dave as Jake continues to shake his hand up and down vigorously.

“He’s a djinni. Like Robin Williams’ Genie but real and a lot more devious. I’m serious when I say don’t wish for anything,” Dave offers as explanation.

“Jake, let him go,” Dirk tells Jake who finally releases John’s hand and bounds back to drape himself over Dirk again. “Sorry about that. He tends to get carried away.”

“I can see...” John tries to not stare at how Jake’s mouth seems to be fixated on one of Dirk’s tattoos, a gold spot surrounded by orthogonal lines. “So anyways, Dave tells me that you know more about this bond that he’s done?”

“It’s not that complicated.” Dirk settles back against the cabinet with an arm around Jake. He easily looks over Jake’s puffed hair at John who is still somehow sitting down. “It’s supposed to be a tool to let demons take on... I guess minions is the correct term. The demons of Hell, not the demons of Sin. Typically a demon seduces a mortal and the mortal ends up binding themselves to the demon using a key phrase repeated three times.”

“I want you. I need you,” John murmurs and he gets a faint blue reaction from Dave’s neck and wrists and a red one over his shirt.

“Exactly. Or at least, that’s a typical one. When the demon is the one being bonded to, they can transfer power to the other for protection, but at the cost of the mortal feeling the demon’s pain and other strong emotions and being forced to follow commands, usually summons. The stronger the demon, the better control over commands. At least that’s how the bonding system is supposed to work.”

“So Jake is bound to you?”

“Nope!” Jake finally pulls away from Dirk. “He’s mine!” Jake starts giggling softly and slides down the wall.

“I... I bound myself to Jake.”

“Yea, because you’re a hopeless romantic and dumbass,” Dave offers.

“Says the guy who bound himself to an angel touched mortal.”

While they bicker, John watches with amusement as Jake walks his fingers up Dirk’s leg until he gets to the hem of his shirt. Then after switching to his knees, he pushes his head underneath.

“You know what? Fuck you.”

“Such a brilliant comeback, Dave. So how long did it take you to fuck up? A year? A month?”

Dave crosses his arms and murmurs darkly under his breath. Dirk rolls his eyes at the childish behavior and turns to John.

“We met... two days ago? Yea it was only like a day and a half ago. Wow, it’s amazing how time works when so much happens.”

“Two days?” Dirk repeats with disbelief. “You bound yourself to him within two fucking days?”

“You know you have a djinni attached to your hip bone, right bro?”

“Really? Hadn’t noticed.” Dirk kicks lightly at Jake who pulls out of Dirk’s shirt with a huff. “But you are changing the subje-” he is cut off as Jake’s hands slip up the inside of his pant legs until his fingers brush against the top of Dirk’s inseam. John watches as Dirk’s cheeks turn a bright cherry as he tries to brush Jake’s hands away. “Jake! For fuck’s sake we just showed up. Can you not wait fifteen-” Jake dodges Dirk’s hands and nuzzles his face against Dirk’s hip, “ _five_ minutes? You’re not even letting me properly rail into my brother about his monumental fuck up. No offense, John,” he looks up briefly. John returns a shrug, still patiently waiting to see how the scene will play out.

“I know who I want to rail into,” Jake mumbles into Dirk’s silk pants.

“Jake.” Dirk’s tone is stern and actually catches Jake’s attention. Jake cows under Dirk’s amber eyes, drawing back enough to give Dirk space to kneel down. “Jake, just give me a few okay?” His tone is soft as he strokes the edge of Jake’s jaw.

“Fine.” He sounds like a petulant child as he rocks back. But then he leaps to his feet and goes to the table and grabs Dave’s half eaten plate of pancakes. Dave starts forward but settles for just staring wistfully at the pancakes being devoured by the djinni.

“Two days, Dave. Two days.” Dirk shakes his head as he stands back up.

“Dude. I know.”

“What will Bro say about this?”

“Mostly ‘I told you so’ at this point. Along with some cute variations thereof.” Dave feels his phone notification go off in his pocket.

“So does the bond mean that I can command Dave? Like I can order him to clean my room and take out the trash for me?” John tries to steer the conversation back on track.

“No. You are just a mortal. Even Jake doesn’t have the power to order me around. The most he can do is summon me, but even then it’s not immediate and I could fight if I needed to.”

“Huh... So when those Envy demons kidnapped me, I was using it. Dave, you said it was like it felt like a cable pulling you or something. So... that was real? I could do that again?”

“Yes, most likely. But that would be extent of how much direct control you have over him. Otherwise it will stay on the emotional plane.”

“Wait, does that mean anytime I’m in pain he can feel it? Is there a way for me to control it better? I mean, what if I get hurt and it distracts him and I don’t want him getting hurt too.”

“No one is going to hurt you,” Dave growls at the thought. “I will fuck them up.”

“I’m sure you will. In fact you did, Dave. But it’s not helpful. What if I just stub my toe or something?”

“Go ahead and pinch yourself,” Dirk suggests.

John blinks at him for a second before pinching his upper arm. He feels the sting and looks over to Dave.

“Uh... I didn’t feel that.”

“Exactly. It’s a protective mechanism. It will only happen when you are in danger. And it shouldn’t debilitate Dave. I think Bro has beat his ass harder than you could survive, John.”

“What?” John stares at Dave, eyeing his scars in a new light.

“Dirk, don’t mention that. Not in front of him.”

“What? Don’t want your boyfriend to know Satan kicks your ass at strifes all the damn time.”

“No, I didn’t. And he kicks yours just as much. And you also lose like a bitch.”

“Okay, yeah. I see the brotherly relation now. Jackassery definitely runs in the family.”

“Whatever,” Dave rolls his eyes and turns away from Dirk. “Got any more questions for this bonds one oh one lesson? Because I think the djinni is about through with my Egbert pancakes,” Jake perks up as he notices Dave is talking about him. “And uh, Dirk... He still looks hungry.”

“He’s always hungry.” A light trilling sound comes from Dirk’s pocket. He slips it out and looks at the screen. “Excuse me, I have to take this.” He steps out through the laundry room.

“Now do you see why I left Hell?” Dave looks to John for sympathy.

“Dirk doesn’t seem that bad.”

“Only because he’s playing nice. He lives up to his title of dickprince, I promise.”

“No seriously. He seems like a good guy. Maybe we could invite him for dinner.”

Dave’s jaw drops. “John... you are so domestic.”

“What? It’s just dinner.”

“It’s adorable. You cook, you cuddle, you kill demons, you bandage up the hubby after a long day of demon slaying, you invite the Prince of Hell and his djinni over for lovely dinner parties, you nag-”

“I never said the crazy djinni could come over. I’m not sure if Dad could take that.”

“Not anymore.”

“I like it when Dirk chokes me when I climax,” Jake interrupts. Both John and Dave turn to stare at him in silence for a beat before simultaneously yelling,

“What the fuck?”

“TMI! Did not need to hear!”

“Shit! Goddamn no!”

“Did not need that mental picture!”

“Well then don’t ask such personal questions.” Jake replies calmly as he sets the empty plate down.

“Dirk!” Dave yells outside. “Dirk!”

“What?”

“Your boyfriend’s scaring us. Scarring us too.”

“Goddamn it.” Jake perks up when Dirk walks back into sight. “Come on, love. These peasants can’t handle you. Besides, I just got word of a Pride nearby.” Dirk pulls Jake close as the djinni nearly tackles him in a hug.

“Seriously?” Dave asks with concern. “Jesus, we’ve just taken out a Lust, a den of Envy, and I think John’s father just had a run in with a Wrath since I’ve been here.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that it’s been quiet in Australia so we can help out here.”

“Do you want us to tag along, Dirk? John’s pretty handy. With the luck thing and all.”

“Ahem, uh, no. No, we’ll be good. We have some things to take care of first that you might wish to avoid seeing, unless you want further scarring.”

“We’re going to fuck?!” Jake asks loudly and excitedly. “Oh! They can come too! It would be fun! Haven’t done that in ages.”

“Oh fuck no. Dirk, get your little horny djinni out of here. Don’t need to expose John to that.”

“I’ll let you know what I find later then,” Dirk waves with his free hand at John and Dave as he drags Jake away with the other. Dave stays at the doorway until they hear the now familiar pop noise before finally turning back to John.

 


	6. Arc 5 (Part 2) - Explanations

“Um... what was that?”

“Sorry about that. Would have warned you first.”

“What’s wrong with...”

“Jake’s... not completely there most of the time...” Dave shakes his head at memories. “There was a time when he was and he was and still is the love of Dirk's life...but the centuries were not kind to their relationship nor to Jake in general. His story is a long one, full of darkness and hurt. It's not my story to tell.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry if Jake made you uncomfortable. He and Dirk get up to some kinky shit because they are weird fucks, but it makes them happy so whatever.”

“Well you shot off pretty fast last time when I called you mine. You aren’t so vanilla.”

“Neither are you, John,” Dave shoots back crossing his arms defensively.

“I think I like that.”

Dave’s jaw drops and he tries to come up with something to say, “What? You- I- Uh- yes,” Dave ends up pleading. “Fuck you, John,” he tries to recover, but a dark flush covers his face as he thinks back to how John pinned him and took control, how John commanded him to finish the bond, how John sounded when he said- “Fuck you very hard.”

“Don’t you mean it the other way,” John grins at him, enjoying how Dave’s demon-y features rose to the surface when he was hot and bothered.

“John,” Dave says warningly.

“Dave,” John replies coyly. Then he tilts his head to the side. “I want you. I need you.”

Blue symbols come to the surface around Dave’s neck and wrists.

“What the fuck is this shit? You aren’t in trouble.” The marks fade away.

“I saw Jake do it.”

“Why are you copying a deranged djinni?”

“Because, I want you.” The marks flare up again as well as a spike of arousal that Dave is sure isn’t his. “Race you to my room,” John grins at him then is on his feet and running towards the stairs.

Dave stares after him a second longer as the blue light fades once more. Then he feels a tug and he’s running too, footsteps light and nearly silent compared to John’s louder thumping. He catches John at the doorway but before he get purchase on John’s shoulders he finds himself grabbed and tossed on the bed. John follows him quickly covering his body with his own and his face with kisses. The kisses dissolve into giggles that Dave can’t help but describe as cute.

“John, what the fuck? Why are you laughing? This is supposed to be hot sexy time. Even hot kinky time. Don’t laugh at my kinks, John. Don’t kink shame me, man. How cruel can you be?”

John pulls away just enough to look at Dave’s reddening face. “Are you actually nervous right now?”

“What? No. Fuck no. This is me cool, calm, and collected. Nothing ruffling my skirts. Nothing can ruin my zen of the mom-”

“I need you.”

The bright blue marks light up again, making Dave arch up against John. John takes a moment to look closely at the new marks and how they interlock with Dave’s dark swirls. “It really does look like a collar.”

Dave flushes darker at that word. “Well it’s a bond that shows that I am yours. What else it is supposed to look like? Your signature across my back? Or how about a tramp stamp across my ass. Yeah, because that is totally sexy. Not that collars are necessarily sexy though but they are better than the other options and-”

“So if I put a collar on you, would it be sexy? I mean, a real physical one. Would that turn you on, Dave?”

“Uhn...” Dave tries his hardest not to respond. He throws his head back and looks anywhere else but at John. But that just gives John access to his throat where he leans down and brushes his lips against the taut skin.

“You do keep mentioning collars, Dave. It’s almost like you want me to tie you down? Or restrain you?” Dave can’t stop the whine that comes out. Nor the erection digging into John’s hips. “Thought so.”

Dave immediately tries to hide his face in his hands, unable to roll over with John on top of him. But as soon as John notices, he grabs Dave’s wrists and pushes them over his head to pin them against the bed as well. Dave is still pointedly not looking at John, but now breathing heavier at the additional restraint.

“Dave, Dave, look at me.” Red eyes eventually find blue and the heat he sees inside just makes him groan. “You are really hot like this.”

“John...”

John leans down and kisses him sweetly, beling the way he rocks his hips roughly down onto Dave. He kisses away the gasps and moans, all the sweet sounds Dave makes below him. John continues to tease him with harsh thrusts even as he keeps his kisses light and airy until Dave is thrashing underneath him.

“John! John! Please!”

“Please what, Dave?” John licks at the corner of his lips and listens to the plea in his moan as he leans his weight against his hands and Dave’s wrists.

“I want you! I need you!” The blue on Dave and the red on John light up. “Fuck me please!” John releases his hands and pulls away from Dave suddenly. Dave cries out at the loss. “No! No! This is opposite of what you are supposed to be doing. John!”

“I want to keep you pinned down like this but...” he trails off as he frantically searches for something amid his piles of clothes at the corner of his room. “Gotta find something to tie you down with.” He misses the low groan Dave makes at his words. “I only have two hands so unless you have a third arm with, dang it where is it, which you want to prep yourself, oh shoot.” John’s shoulders fall as he picks up the remnants of his belt. “I forgot you cut this earlier.”

“You have to have another belt.”

“Why? This was such a good one.”

“Fucking hell.” Dave runs a hand through his hair in frustration. He growls momentarily then shouts at nothing in particular, “So you can send the fucking phone to buzz at my ass, but you can’t send anything for kinky sex?! You are falling down on the job, Bro! I see who the favorite child is!”

“Dave...” John begins before Dave lifts his ass off the bed revealing a pair of black velvet lined handcuffs. “Oh.”

“John, I want you,” he pauses to let their marks glow, “to fuck me into the fucking bed.” Dave has never seen someone strip out of their clothes so fast. He lets out a startled yelp as John yanks his jeans down, nearly taking him off the bed. He grins wickedly as he helps John get rid of the offending article before moving closer to the top of the bed. He shivers at John’s predatory look.

John slowly crawls up Dave’s body, dipping his head down to nip at his thigh, hip, chest, neck until he is straddled over Dave’s hips. He watches how Dave reacts to the metallic sound of the chain connecting the handcuffs as he lifts them up and loops them around a post in the headboard. Dave twitches as each cuff snaps delicately around his wrists. He gives them a testing tug and finds them solid, moaning loudly as the way the velvet presses against the sensitive skin on the inside of his wrist.

“Feels good, Dave?” John asks close to his ear. “This what you wanted?” This time when he brushes his hips against Dave’s it’s just skin on hot skin. “You really want to be helpless, Dave? Held down and bound? For me to be in charge? And able to do whatever I want with you?” Dave’s answer is a mindless moan as he rocks up towards John. “And you can’t stop me; I could tease you if I wanted.” Dave whimpers at the threat. “I haven’t really gotten the chance to explore you slowly. And you can beg and whine but you’d enjoy every second of it, wouldn’t you?” John trails his fingers down Dave’s side.

“Oh motherfuck, John. Please, please. Fuck!” The chains rattle above his head. “Please fuck me.”

“Well since you asked so nicely...” John slips off of Dave to reach for the lube again. He returns to look over Dave, flushed under his dark skin, panting with an open mouth and wide eyes. His legs are parted in invitation, a spot just for John. John can’t help but run his hand over the smooth skin of his thigh, teasing the sensitive skin where leg meets torso. Dave jerks at his touch, wanting to get closer but without the ability to reach for him.

John finally moves in between Dave’s legs, continuing with his light touches. Dave whines at him, but John continues to take it slow, dragging his fingers across his stomach to trail down through the white of Dave’s happy trail. Dave’s hips jump up when John bypasses his dick and slips below. With his other hand he flips the cap open and pours some of the remaining bit of lube out onto his fingers. Dave gasps as John presses into him. His hips try to thrust up again but John holds them down with his other hand making Dave’s cock twitch at the restraint.

“John, John, John, John,” Dave chants as John works him open.

“Dave, I’m not even to the good part,” John chides with a laugh. “Besides, you’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you come before I’m inside you.” He laughs again at Dave’s deep groan and takes the advantage to push in a third finger. Dave arches up and the chains of the handcuffs clink together against the headboard. John leans over to kiss the presented abs before Dave rocks back down, rolling his hips to get John’s fingers in deeper.

“Please! Oh god, please, John, I’m ready. I’m a fucking agent of Hell. You don’t have to baby me. You can be rough. I promise. In fact, please be rough. Fuck me hard and rough into next week. I can take it. Please, oh fuck! I just want you inside me, John. I need you!” he screams out the last as the marks flare up with enough light to cast shadows about the room. John can feel Dave’s need almost as if it could be tangibly pressed up against his chest in addition to his own want not to wait anymore. He slides his fingers out carefully and uses the last of the lube to slick up his cock even as Dave fights his restraints to the point that they hear (and ignore) the creaking of wood. John lines himself up and sinks into Dave with a single solid stroke.

Together they gasp in relief and sigh at the closeness. John slides even farther in as Dave adjusts his hips to wrap his legs around John. John settles himself on his elbow over Dave so that he can kiss his darkly flushed face as he slowly begins to pump his hips. Dave’s moans rumble around in his throat to escape with a soft sigh every time John pushes flush against him.

“Yes, yes, John!”

“But this slow pace isn’t what you wanted, Dave, was it? You said something about me being rough.”

“As long as you are fucking me, I don’t give a shit.”

“But what do you really want?” John asks half in taunt, half with sincerity. Dave tosses his head back. John slows his hips down until he is just resting, waiting for Dave’s scrunched up eyes to open.

“What are you doing? Please, oh god, please.”

“What do you want, Dave?”

“Fuck me. Pound me into the mattress. Make me scream until my voice gives out. Mark me with bruises. Be rough with me because I trust you. Control me. Use me. I just want you, John. I need you to fuck my brains out.”

John watches how the red from his chest catches in Dave’s gemstone eyes. He pauses for a moment longer before following Dave’s instructions.

He grabs the back of Dave’s knees and lifts them to his shoulders, shifting deeper into Dave, drawing the first of many moans out. John uses the leverage of being on his knees to start thrusting hard and fast into Dave as he had pleaded. He tugs Dave’s hips against his, making Dave’s arms stretch out from his shoulders to the black cuffs as far as they would go. He leans over, nearly folding Dave in half with continuously powerful thrusts, to kiss Dave hard on his mouth until he could taste blood from his lips. John laps it up before invading his mouth with his tongue. The coppery taste explodes fresh as he cuts himself on one of Dave’s fangs. He moans loudly as Dave sucks on the injured tongue. He only pulls away when his lungs start to burn with the need for oxygen.

Instead of returning to the kiss when he catches enough of a breath, John pushes further down to get his lips against Dave’s throat. Dave throws his head back to offer more when John starts to suck at the hot skin. He starts to pant and moan when John scrapes his teeth along the taut tendons. John works at a spot until he is sure a mark will show up on Dave’s dark skin before moving onto the next location.

“Fuck, John, yes!”

John finally releases his neck only to grip his hips hard enough to bruise as he snaps his own hips forward to plunge deep into Dave again and again. Dave cries out against the burn in his arms from being stretched out on each pull towards the dick that is driving deep inside him. He starts chanting John’s name again at a much higher volume than before.

“I want you, Dave, I need you.”

Dave chokes mid syllable on the wave of emotion that crashes into him from the bond’s connection. He opens his mouth to try to reply but all that comes out is a jumbled string of sounds that ends in a high pitched whimper. He arches towards John and clenches around him as he thrusts for lack of any other way to cling to him, which causes John’s motions to stutter slightly before ramping back up even harder. Dave screws his eyes shut and starts tossing his head back and forth, trying in vain to ground himself through the pleasure racing up his spine and the naked emotion he can feel through the bond.

“John! John I wa-” he gasps and finally manages to get the phrase out breathlessly, “I want you! I need you! John please!”

When the collar mark flares brightly again, John reaches a hand down to trace the swirls around Dave’s neck. When his hand comes to rest lightly around the base of Dave’s throat, the full-body shudder that goes through Dave doesn’t escape John’s notice. He thinks back to what Jake had blurted out earlier and acts on impulse. He tightens his hand ever so slightly against Dave’s skin and can feel the subsequent gulp and hitch of breath.

“Do you like this, Dave? Like what Jake said in the kitchen? Do you get off on this too?” John increases the pressure slightly and Dave keens helplessly. John increases the tempo of his thrusts as he grips Dave’s neck, noticing the way Dave has started to tremble and tense up. Neither of them are going to last much longer so he decides to finish with a bang.

He thrusts as hard as he can and cuts off the majority of Dave’s oxygen before leaning in close to his ear to groan and nip at the skin. “You’re mine, Dave. I want you,” and he pushes all his need into the words and towards the demon under him, who seizes up completely and throws his head back with a silent scream as he comes.

John moans and lets up the pressure on Dave’s throat so he can dig his teeth into the junction between neck and shoulder as he comes, caught in Dave’s vice-like grip. He continues to thrust shallowly until they are both finished and Dave is making pitiful little sounds from overstimulation. John has just enough presence of mind to fall to the side instead of on top of Dave before he collapses and attempts to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Dave is panting and his eyes are glazed over when he turns his head towards John.

After a few minutes and a few attempts, Dave manages to speak, though his voice still cracks badly, “That was... the hottest thing I think my body could ever handle.” John laughs at his dazed state and watches as he tries to form more words. “And I’ve been around the block a couple eons or so.”

“Wow, you are out of it, aren’t you?”

“Fuck, how old am I again?”

“You never actually told me.” John tries and fails not to giggle at Dave’s perplexed face as he, no doubt, tries to remember or sum the years up in his head.

“Welp, I guess the world will never know. It is now one of the lost numbers, along with how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop." Dave lets his head thunk back deeper into the pillows for a moment.

“Ah, there’s the start of the rambling I know and love. I was afraid I’d permanently fried your speech circuits,” John teases and then leans in to kiss softly at the corner of Dave’s mouth. He bites his lip when he sees the dark marks he left on Dave’s neck from both his mouth and hand. “I didn’t go too far did I? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, better than fine. Perfection has nothing on me. I’m th-” he cuts himself off when he tries to lower his arms to wrap them around John. “Oh, hey could you uncuff me now so we can have a cuddle puddle?”

John quickly reaches up for the handcuffs. Dave gets a little worried as John frowns and bites his lip again. John can’t feel any release mechanism even under the velvet padding. “Um... Dave, these are real. Like totally unlike the magic ones I used to have as a kid. And unless the key is under your butt, I don’t think we have one.”

“What? No.” Dave tugs on the cuffs in frustration, no longer turned on by their entrapment. “Bro, you fucking asshole!” he shouts away from John. “I’ll-”

There is sharp crackle of sound and then a puff of dark orange smoke curling up away from Dave’s chest revealing a white card with a metal key strung to its corner.

“Fucker,” Dave mumbles as John frees the key and takes a look at the note.

“Um, Bro, it’s so weird to call him that, says ‘if you don’t watch the sass li’l man, I’m sending a smuppet to buzz your ass.’ Dave, what’s a smuppet?”

Dave pales and shrinks down away from the note John is holding. “Let’s just hope you never have to find out. Please unlock me, John.”

“I’m serious. It sounds like a pupp-”

“John, no. Key, cuffs, now.”

John sighs and takes the key to the handcuffs. “Is it something he uses to strife you with?”

“John, please for the love of all that is holy, and unholy, don’t ask.”

“Just answer me.”

“Sometimes. When I lose actually. Fuck.” Dave starts rubbing his wrists to get circulation back. “Just ignore that asshole.”

“Well, it’s not like I am planning on going to Hell anytime soon.”

“‘Exactly. Now come here. I need snuggles.”


	7. Arc 6 (Part 1) - Pride

Soft moans and gasps fill the room as Dirk drags his mouth over Jake’s collar bones. The djinni arches up underneath him as he rocks his hips to drive Dirk’s cock in deeper. Their fingers are entwined against the white sheets. Jake squeezes their hands tightly together. He throws his head back, mouth and bright eyes open as Dirk continues with long lazy strokes.

“Jake, Jake, my Jake,” Dirk murmurs into the soft skin under his jaw. He feels Jake clench around him. He presses their chests together, catching and rubbing Jake’s swollen cock against his abs. “My mad love.”

He draws out more breathy moans with every stroke, keeping the pace slow and sweet to gradually build up his pleasure. He could make love to Jake for hours on end just to show him how much Jake meant to him. He drops meaningless nonsense against Jake’s skin as there are not enough words to truly tell him how Jake makes him feel. It doesn’t stop him from trying.

“Dirk! Please! Please!”

He would do anything for the brunette that writhes underneath him, but he knows exactly what Jake is asking for in this instance. He gives in and slowly builds up speed until the slap of skin joins the moans Jake makes with each hard thrust. Jakes hands grip Dirk’s until his knuckles turn white. Dirk pushes down against them to leverage his torso up to get a better angle into Jake to hit the certain spot that makes him just crumble underneath his touch. When he throws his head back with a croon, Dirk knows he has hit it and continues to repeat the movement with the consistency that comes with familiarity.

“Dirk!” His voice is laced with need as he shouts the demon’s name. Dirk hurriedly undoes one pair of hands to reach between them and wrap it around Jake’s cock instead. It only takes a couple strokes with the heat against his palm for Jake’s body to seize up as pleasure crashes through him. Dirk watches the ecstasy fill Jake’s face, bright emerald eyes opened wide, mouth gasping for air with which to scream against the explosion of stimulation through him. Dirk stills while he is pressed deep inside of Jake and gently strokes him through the orgasm, finally releasing him when Jake manages to take a shuddering breath.

When those emeralds refocus on Dirk, a little darker than normal with a smile a few watts dimmer than his usual manic grin, Dirk blinks away the tears and slowly begins to move again. Jake mewls with the renewed movement, urging with soft encouragements and pleas of love.

“Jake, oh Jake. My world, my life. _I want you. I need you_ ,” Dirk murmurs. His constant rocking knocks some sweat off his brow to land against the bright half filled orange heart laid out on Jake’s chest. He dips down and places his lips against the fading mark.

“Dirk... always... love you,” the soft edge in his voice pushes Dirk over the edge and he clutches at the djinni below him as his own pleasure comes.

Dirk’s breath comes back first and then his vision as he slowly pries himself away from how he had tucked himself against Jake. He rolls off to the side, really enjoying how soft and smooth the hotel sheets feel against his too hot skin. It’s always the little things one has to stop and enjoy.

“That’s was bloody brilliant!” The harsh return of Jake’s loud voice makes Dirk laugh and his heart cringe. The djinni props himself up on his elbow and looks over at the pale gold-marked demon sprawled out next to him. “Do we have time for a round three?” His eyes nearly glow they are so bright and hungry.

“No, love, we don’t.”

“Damn. And I really wanted to fuck you up against the wall.”

Despite his recent release, the offhanded comment makes Dirk’s cock twitch in anticipation. “Sorry but we have a demon to kill.”

“We’re not killing Dave, are we?”

“No,” Dirk bites out. He doesn’t know how Jake’s mind gets tidbits like that. “The Pride demon up the road.”

“Oh. Good. I like Dave. He has almost as nice an ass as you, Dirk.”

“I’m glad you love me for good reasons like my ass.”

“Well of course I love your ass. It’s so nice and fuckable. And it fits my hands better than Dave’s.”

“You really know how to lay on the charm, love.”

Jake grins over at him. “We are going to need help taking out Pride.”

“Really?” Dirk rolls over to grab at his phone. If Jake says it, then he believes it.

“Yep. We can ask the boys with nice asses to help. I bet John has a nice ass. Can I try John’s ass out?”

“You can’t try other people asses without their permission, Jake. And in this case, I don’t think Dave would give you permission.” He quickly types out the invite to his brother.

“Aw, such a meany. Doesn’t he know he should share?”

“How would you feel if someone you just met came and tried my ass out?”

“Can I watch?”

Dirk drops a hand to cover his face. “Not the point.”

“I mean, they couldn’t take my gold,” Jake rolls all the way onto his side and starts tracing out Dirk’s tattoos, pressing down a little on the rounded parts to watch how the sunlight coming from the curtains catch on the reflective surfaces.

“No one would dare take your gold. And John’s ass is pretty much off the market too. And Dave’s ass now belongs to John.”

“Just like how yours belongs to me.”

“Yes,” he tries to make it come out exasperated but between his true feelings and his currently satisfied state, he just affirms Jake’s statement. Jake grins at him and swoops down for a deep kiss which almost convinces Dirk to take him up on the suggestion for a third round. Instead he manages to push the tanned man off and heave himself to his feet. “Come on, clothes.”

“Clothes are such a bother.” Jake flops onto his back. “I can’t touch you as well with clothes on.”

“Just think of it as a challenge, darling.” Dirk bends down to pick up his pants and he can feel Jake’s eyes on his ass. “Plus, clothes are necessary for adventures.”

“I know what you are doing.”

“I thought you loved adventure, Jake.”

“See! I know what you are doing.”

“If you don’t want to go on an adventure, I suppose we can just go back to bed.”

“I know _exactly_ what you are doing. I see how you are.”

“We could let Dave and John be the adventurous heroes.”

“I see you.” Jake leaps to his feet and throws himself at Dirk to press him up against the wall. “Manipulative hellspawn.”

“Crazy djinni.”

“My demon bastard.”

“My mad love.”

“Your ass is going to pay for this later.”

“I look forward to it. But you have to earn it first.”

“Yea, yea. Demon to kill.” Jake nuzzles against the column of Dirk’s neck and grinds his hips against the taller body. “Then mine.”

“Yours.”

* * *

Dave curses his phone as it goes off from wherever his pants ended up. He curses louder as John shoves him out of the cuddle pile to go answer his texts. Dave casts a baleful eye back as his boyfriend who is still curled up in the sheets.

“Hate you.”

“Want you. Need you.” John gets matching faint glows and Dave can feel the contented happiness bubbling up inside.

“Fucker.” He crawls over to the buzzing and pulls out his phone. He get back on the bed where John can cuddle against him before even looking at the screens. “Seems like my brother can’t do anything without me. Well, he’s actually included you too.”

“I can think of a couple things he can probably do without us,” John muses.

Dave ignores the connotations behind his words and continues, “He’s invited us to help him and Jake take out the Pride demon. Says something about established personality, ingrained demonhood, him being a pansy prince bound to a demented djinni. I mean we don’t have to. They can go get other resources and we can stay in bed all day.”

“Okay.”

“Good, I wasn’t planning on getting up.”

“No, okay as in I’m game. I can help take out a demon.”

“Why do you have to be such a goody two shoes about everything?”

“Because I was raised that way. You know you love it. Maybe that’s what I should put on the tags of your collar. Owned by Goody Two Shoes.”

Dave just groans and wraps his arms around John’s head in an attempt to smother him. John just laughs into his chest and pushes him away. Dave returns for a series of quick kisses that dissolve into something softer and slower that makes John melt into him. They are interrupted by the phone going off again. Dave grumbles about chucking it out the window as John rolls away from him and starts recovering his clothes. He has to cross his arms and refuse Dave’s exit until he puts on a shirt.

“But shirts are hot and not in the sexy way but in the uncomfortable way.”

“They are respectable.”

“They are itchy.”

“Not the ones that I have.”

“Yours are too small.”

“No they aren’t. They fit me.”

“Then you are small.”

John glares at him, and Dave shivers as he recognizes the same stare that has been handed down from Crocker to Egbert and recently from James to John. He finally grabs a black shirt and pulls it on and finds that it doesn’t fit too badly. Satisfied John leads the way out of the room. When they pass by the kitchen, John sees a note on the counter presumably from his father.

_I went out to run errands. Apparently we have need of soundproofing materials. Congratulations on embracing and exploring your kinks, Son. -James_

John’s face flushes dark red which causes Dave to grab the piece of paper from his hands. He reads it quickly and bursts out laughing.

"'Oh my fuck, that's rich. Guess we did forget about him."

"Just kill me. I'm going to die out of embarrassment anyways."

"Not gonna kill you. Too good of a fuck." Dave drops the note and wraps his arms around John's waist.

"Hate you." The words are muffled through his hands.

"Oh now how did that go again? Want you, need you?" The marks glow faintly and John can feel Dave's mischief as well as the underlying emotions that make up the sentiment of wanting and needing him.

"Alright well if you aren't going to kill me, what do we need to kill this demon?"

"Well, you probably need a weapon that you can use, preferably something better than a hammer-"

"Like your sword?" John pauses from his counter-note to his father telling him that they would be out.

"Exactly, like my sword. And then your car I guess, since you people won't let me fly.”

“Would you carry me if you were allowed to fly?”

“Fuck no, that sounds like work.”

“Alright then. To my metallic steed!”

“You can’t be serious.”

John just grins at Dave as he leads the way to the garage, grabbing a large knife off of the rack of weapons. Dave looks at it with concern but shrugs and leaves the judgement of weapons to the one wielding it. He does let out a deep groan at the car that John drives.

* * *

John’s jaw drops as he pulls up in front of the hotel that Dave directed him to. He is sure that a single night here would cost him more than he makes in a month.

“Did... did they just magically poof into one of the rooms? Are we here because they got caught and are about to get dragged out by irate hotel staff? Is my car about to become a getaway vehicle?”

“John, you’re car couldn’t outrun a bus. It will never be used as a getaway vehicle, rest assured.”

“Hey-”

“Dirk has the elite premium gold platinum diamond unobtanium level rewards card so they’ll kick other people out of the room if Dirk shows up in their lobby with a room request flashing the most expensive credit card with infinity limit. They will be tripping over themselves to roll out the red carpet and make sure no peasants are in the hallway spoiling his view. They probably get down on their knees-”

“I bet Jake does.”

“-to kiss his shoes and I really didn’t need the extra commentary there, John, I was on a pretty good roll.”

“Oh look, there they are!” He rolls down his window and catches their attention with a waving arm. He briefly notes how normal Dirk looks in the sun, just as Dave does. Jake is wearing slightly more normal clothes but his expression and exuberance are exactly the same. He’s already in the car by the time Dirk starts across the parking lot. With the open back door, John can hear a comment about the state of his car.

“I know, isn’t it terrible? Though it is actually better than what his dad drove. That was a fucking death trap on wheels. This is more of a horror thrill ride.”

“I bet Jake could-” Dirk starts.

“Nope! Nope, no no, quite alright. I think even the Prince of Hell can take the blow to his ego in riding in something like this for what, the thirty miles to Pride’s location over whatever clause Jake might put into such a request.”

“I suppose,” Dirk sighs as he slides in next to Jake who promptly ignores all of John’s attempts to get him to wear and seat belt and sit down and not to sit in Dirk’s lap.

Thankfully the trip is short with Dave giving directions and a quick explanation of how they know where the demon lives.

“So you have a network of super secret minor demon agents that look like crows and could be any crow I see who keep tabs on activity on earth to pass along to demons in hell to they can send you the information via text message?”

“Yup. Sounds about right.”

“How do you even get signal down in hell?”

“John, you are asking the right questions,” Dave tells him as they pull up to the ostentatious gates at the end of a winding driveway.

“Wait... I know this place. I’ve seen it on the news. It belongs to... oh what was his name? Droog. The media calls him Diamond Droog. Oh! Daren Droog.”

“That just sounds like a villain's name.”

“What? He’s the demon? But I thought he was doing pretty good. I mean he got the town a library and a park.”

“And I bet his name is stamped out all across it. Not that that alone is bad, but that’s just the start. No one starts bad but it’s a slippery slope sometimes. Seems like Droog has been wallowing down at the bottom for quite some time now.”

“Well that sucks. I voted for him.” There is a small pause of silence as the two demons stare at John and Jake nuzzles up against Dirk. “Okay, so how are we going to get to him? This place looks like it has good security.”

“Jake,” Dirk grabs and holds Jake’s face, “I wish for the car and its passengers to be parked in front of the house that the Pride demon is in.”

“Shit shit shit, John, hold onto something.”

“Alrighty! Can do!”

John grips the wheel of the car as almost an electric feeling passes through him like a shudder emanating outside of his body. He closes his eyes against the sensation. When it passes he opens them and finds the car sitting in front of the wide sweeping marble staircase.

“I can’t believed that worked. And nothing seems fishy about,” Dave says cautiously. Then a burst of music comes from the speakers that cut off when Dave slams down on the power button in startlement.

“Hey, I didn’t have satellite radio in this car.”

“Just be thankful that’s the only change. And actually that’s not a bad one. But I won’t be surprised if it only plays polka or something.”

“Polka isn’t that bad.”

“John.”

“Time to go kill some demons!” Jake pushes himself up between the front seats interrupting the exchange.

“Just one demon, right?”

“Oh,” Jake’s smile falters. “Yea, dang it.” John just stares at him as he slumps back down into the back.

“Okay, as the madman says, let’s go.” Dave opens his door and climbs out of the car with everyone else doing the same.

“Are we just going to leave my car here?”

“It’s not like anything worse can happen to it.”

“Seriously? My car isn’t that bad. And I paid for it myself.”

“Please tell me it came out of the bargain bin for ninety nine percent off and you didn’t have to dip into your college funds where you’ll have to turn tricks just to make it through the community classes because that would just be so very sad, but I’d be your pimp and make sure to scare off any johns that get too handsy or rough with you,” Dave rambles as they climb the steps up to the front door.

“Wow. Now I understand how you could get hooked in a day. Already bickering like an old married couple,” Dirk interjects.

“Like you and Jake don’t.”

“But see we also have a couple decades under our belt and that is just considering being bound. It has been what, centuries since we first met, love?” He glances over at Jake who is tugging on the front doors to no avail. “Sweetheart, they are locked.”

“Oh.” There is a bright flash around the edges of the door and the heavy mahogany falls inwards, landing with a heavy thud.

“Honey, we’re here!” Dave shouts into the revealed room. “Thanks for giving away our entrance, djinni.”

“Were we _trying_ to sneak in through the front door?” John asks as he peers inside.

“Whatever.” John can almost hear Dave’s feathers rustle in annoyance. Dave steps in as his sword drops into his hand. John cautiously draws his knife as well as he looks around. The first thing he notices is dark wood contrasting with rectangles and ovals of silvery mirrors.

“Jeez, he need some decorating help.

“Tell me about it. I hope this isn’t going to be a recurring theme. These mirrors are so overdone. Fucking cliche Pride demons,” Dave comments as he glances up and finds the ceiling also made of mirrors.

The four of them move farther into the room and freeze when the far door swings open.

“Really? Going for all of the cliches I see.”

“It’s the obvious way to go.”

“And obviously a trap,” Dirk counters.

“And obviously how to get to the demon so all we have to do is beat the trap,” Dave defends.

“And obviously he knows that so it’s not just going to be an easy trap.”

“And obviously you two demons are annoying!” John breaks through.

“Fine,” Dirk and Dave sigh together.

They approach the door with no fanfare and go through. On the other side is what looks to be a corridor of tall mirrors with what looks like several exits along it’s length before it turns a corner at the far end.

 


	8. Arc 6 (Part 2) - Pride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: A bit of gore and psychological trauma.

“A maze?” Dirk comments, nervousness heavy in his voice. “A mirror maze.”

“I like mazes!” Jake cries out and runs down the hall.

“Jake, no!”

“I’ll get him. Dave, hold this.” John tosses him the knife and starts after the djinni bounding past the mirrors.

“John, no! Why the fuck are you not taking the knife?”

“I’m not supposed to run with sharp objects!” John calls out of his shoulder.

“John, you moron. And good job, Jake, real nice. Dirk, why is your djinni so fucking insane?” Dirk doesn’t have an answer as Jake darts around the corner with John hot on his trail. “Come on, they are gonna get in trouble without us.” Dave slips the knife into his pocket and grabs Dirk’s arm, jolting him out of his staring.

“Right.” Dirk swallows hard and starts jogging with Dave. They hear a shout and pick up the pace. As they turn the corner they can’t stop their momentum in time when they see the reflective sheen across the empty space. They both experience a falling sensation as they break the plane and the rippling sensation across their skin isn’t unlike how Jake transported their car. As the environment around them shifts into an ugly, distorted parody of real life, Dave and Dirk slow to a stop.

“Ah shit. I knew it was too much to hope that the dude just had a fetish for mirrors. He’s gotta be wielding too. I hate working with mystic.”

“Well, this is new,” Dirk walks over to where one of the walls should be but his hand just slides along the surface with goldish crackles following it down until he pulls it away. The warping seems to have dulled the mirror it was supposed to be. “Interdimensional space?”

“No, this is an old hat trick. I fucking hate Pride demons. Always thinking they are so much better than me.”

“Well, you are the one currently trapped.”

“Fuck off.”

Dirk is about to continue but he catches sight of some movement on another piece of the wall. He tips his head in that direction and Dave looks as well. They can see John and Jake through a collection of disjointed slivers. John is still chasing Jake through mirrored halls, not getting close enough to stop him though.

“Shit, he’s a quick one. I still say you need to put a leash on him. One of the ones that have the teddy bear backpack.”

“Maybe you should put a leash on your mate, Dave,” Dirk snarls back at him. “Oh wait, that’s right, he’s already made you his bitch. And actually you’d like that have that collar around your neck, wouldn’t you?”

Dave flushes hotly. “Hey, I was suggesting it for practicality, not for the kink. Fuck, how do we get out of here. The walls are making my head hurt.” Dave goes and pounds his fist against one of the warped walls as Dirk stares at the mirrors turned screens.

“Oh shit.” Dirk rushes to one of the slivers. “No, no no no.” He watches for another glimpse of Jake’s face, dreading the brightness of his eyes, a green that manages to cut through even the interdimensional haze about them. “Jake!”

Almost as if Jake can hear him, those bright eyes fill the shards as Jake pauses long enough for John to tackle him.

“Gotcha! Dang, making my track experience worthwhile. Hoo boy. Hah. Don’t go running off like that. Now, where are the other two?” John looks around as if finally realizing he’s not in the initial maze corridor.

Jake struggles a little underneath John until he has flipped completely around to face the human. While John is distracted, Jake grins and then leans up to lick John’s neck.

“Agh!” John shouts and scrambles off of Jake, only to lunge forward against to wrap a hand around Jake’s wrist as if to prevent him from running off again. “What are you doing?”

“Hehehe,” Jake chuckles as he reaches forward with his other hand. John immediately grabs it and pins it with the first. “Oooh! This is fun. Are you going to hold me down the whole time. It’ll make it harder, but you know it’ll be hot.”

“Uh...”

“Are you going to fuck my face?” Jake seems to ask earnestly, his bright green eyes almost burning into John’s reddening face. “I’ll be wanting something in return mind you. Maybe a turn at fucking your ass. Or fucking Dave’s! Can I fuck Dave’s while you watch? Dirk said I needed to ask. Dave! Davey! Can I fuck his ass? Are you watching? I’m gonna screw your boy right here,” Jake’s voice takes on a dark tone that has John leaning back.

“Jake, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, John.” The smile doesn’t comfort John at all.

“If I let you go, you aren’t going to do any of that, are you? Uh... Dirk would be mad at you if you did.” Jake’s eyes go wide at Dirk’s name. “Okay, good. Let’s try that then.”

He releases one wrist and instantly Jake’s arm shoots out to wrap around John, pulling him off balance and down on top of him. His mouth latches onto the nearest section of bare skin and starts sucking.

“Ack! No! Stop! Dave! Dirk! I have a crazy djinni licking my neck. What do I do? How do I make him stop?” Despite his struggles, Jake stays fast to him. “Dave! Dirk!”

“Not gonna help. Not gonna come. Fall apart in splinters. Fall to their demons,” Jake murmurs into John’s skin.

“What? What are you saying?”

“I wonder what you taste like!” Jake grabs John’s hair and pushes his head toward where he is stretching upwards to met in a clash of lips and teeth. John feels his tongue snake out and run along the inside of his lips. “You taste,” he starts excitedly but then pauses, “...sweet.” His hand falls away from John’s head. John immediately pulls away and catches Jake’s twisted expression of concern. It’s such a change from his usual manic grin. The brightness in his eyes are gone as well and they remind John of quiet forests.

“Jake?”

“Dirk? I’m sorry,” Jake breathes out.

“No no no! Jake! Jake!” Dirk slams at the splinter as it fades away into the shadowy wall. “Damn it! Jake! Come back!”

“Dirk, calm down.”

“How fucking dare you!” Dirk turns on Dave, his amber eyes flickering like fire. “Jake is sane out there. I have to get to him. I have to get out of here!” He whirls back at the wall and throws his hands at it. The flames covering his fists explodes outwards and coats the wall in tongues of blue and orange. A hole like a burn through paper forms and Dirk leaps at it, feeling the tingling sensation sweep over him again. The room he lands in is just a mirror of the one he left. He howls in rage and goes to attack another wall when the warping suddenly shivers and straightens out into a flat surface.

His movement stops as he stares in horror at the scene presented to him. Jake is staring into his own mirror with John tugging at him, but Dirk can see what Jake is seeing. A tableau of three. The forested-eyed Jake is being strangled by another, wearing an exaggerated grin that seems to be tearing at the edges. The wild bright eyes laugh in mockery at the trapped Jake’s feeble attempts to claw at the arms keeps him pinned, at the hands trapped around his neck slowly crushing his throat as he tried to scream. The third Jake is just leaning listly to the side, the dusty gray-green eyes staring at the other two but doing nothing to help the struggling one.

“Jake!” Orange demon fire crashes into the mirror as Dirk attempts to disrupt the scene but the shards of the mirror just scatter about the walls of the room that suddenly seem a lot smaller than before. He catches a glimpse at the tears welling up in the real Jake’s eyes, the panic on John’s face, the fear and pain on the strangled one’s, the fate and joy on the manic attacker’s, the deadened soul of the lost one. “No! Not him!”

Fire coats the room before suddenly dying out. The silver shards remain, blank for a moment before Dirk sees himself.

“NO NO NO!” He can’t actually hear their mocking but it doesn’t stop his mind from providing the vitriol that the twisted faces are mouthing.

_You're a reject from both of your sires_

_They will never accept you as their leader, their prince, when you are at war with yourself_

_Can’t even protect the one precious to you_

Red eyes surrounded with orthogonal tattoos across the face, dark purple with sick drops sliding down from his weeping crown, the dead white eyes talking from a bloodied neck, silver plates that mechanically slide together, a doll like version being puppeteered by an unseen hand, a green mask with red swirled cheeks, his mother’s crying eyes on his father’s face, his king’s cruel sneer looking down at him, his own golden ones staring into- “NO!”

He curls down on himself, knowing it is just the demon, just Droog fucking with his head. But it doesn’t stop the echos of the hateful words that sound like truth from ringing through the silent room. It’s only Droog. It’s only Droog.

Dave cursed the demon’s name as he stalked his own warped prison. Dirk’s escape certainly hadn’t helped him out. The wall had sealed up immediately behind his brother. _not your real brother_ All he wanted to do is get out of here and back to John. _he doesnt want you_ Get to John and then kill this motherfucker who decided it was a good idea to mess with them. _no one wants you_ He just has to figure out how to break it from the inside. _you are worthless_ Dirk’s way might have been effective, but Dave doesn’t think so as he can’t see Dirk near where John is kneeling by Jake. _who would want you_ It doesn’t work either to swing his sword against the image of Jake turning around and kissing John again, of John’s hands coming up to bury themselves in Jake’s hair, of the two of them sliding together, of the passion building up between them as they pull at each other shirts. _so easily forgotten_

Dave shakes his head hard. His hands sting from where the vibrations from his sword had travelled up the pommel to the grip from the repeated blows to the wall. _you dont deserve him_ Dave ignores the shimmer on the far wall. Instead he goes to the side that they came through. _you cant keep him safe_ He ignores the bright flare of light as white wings fill the outline of yet another mirror. _you arent the hero_ What is with this guy and mirrors that show shit like the angels lifting John’s body away? _you cant save anyone_ Dave’s sword flies across the room and buries itself in the image of the blood stain left behind, too much blood left behind. _youll kill him_

Dave stalks across the room and wrenches the sword out. He shoves his hand into the gap left behind before it can close up and with black wings flaring out behind him, he rips it wider. _running away again_ He dashes through the hole and flies along the low ceiling corridors. _always running away_ He catches glimpses of Bro sitting on his throne, burnt orange eyes glittering down at him with cold contempt. _abandoning your role_ His ring covered hand strokes through Dirk’s white hair in a rare show of affection. _throwing it away_ He sees the dark grimy hand grabbing at his arms and legs, leaving pitch against his skin as they drag him out of the hall at Bro’s command. _not that you were suitable in the first place_

His shoulder hurts from where he slammed into the wall, taking the corner too fast. _run demon knight_ The halls seemed to be painted with images that he doesn’t want to see, that would kill him if they were real, that try to rip his still beating heart out of his chest as if they were tangible. _run run little demon boy_ His mind fights against the input, trying to remember that this is all Droog’s work _run and hide_ That he needs to find a way out _run and die_ That John _little_ is out _demon_ there waiting _knight_ for him.

The John that is currently out there next to a nearly comatose djinni who won’t stop staring into the nearest mirror.

“Hey! Stop that. Snap out of it. I’m not that bad of a kisser. Come on!”

John tugs at his arm but Jake doesn’t budge. He tries waving a hand in front of his face, then sitting in front of him, then smacking him lightly in the face. But all he gets from that is a slightly wet hand from the tears running down Jake’s face.

“Dang it. Dirk’s going to be mad at me. Actually,” John perks up a little, “I think he already is. That sounds like him, kinda. More like it sounds like what I think he would sound like as a lion. But where the heck is he?”

John climbs to his feet and glances around the nearest corner, making sure not to let the djinni out of his sight. He jogs lightly down to the other end and does the same. But he doesn’t see anything on either end and Dirk’s howling doesn’t shift with the distance either.

“Weir-” John chokes on the word as a wave of fear, panic, and anger crashes through him. He fights to get his breath back and focuses on being calm as he realizes that he must be feeling Dave’s panic attack. He tries to mentally push his calm out though like the roars but unlike the time he called on Dave with the Envies, there isn’t a specific direction.

John eventually feels the tumultuous reaction get quieter as John focuses on keeping his breathing level, focuses on the slow in and out of air through his lungs.

“Well, that’s not a good sign. We bring two demons and a djinni out to fight a demon and it’s going to be the human that saves the day,” John sighs heavily. “One Pride demon and a couple smoke and mirror tricks and you all fall apart. Do I have to do everything myself?” He checks on Jake one more time but with no change he decides to finish the maze.

He keeps his right hand on the right wall and jogs along. Just as he thinks he’s going in a circle, the walls change back to the dark wood with only slightly fewer mirrors. Continuing further he comes across another set of doors. He cautiously pushes them open.

Bluish electronic light fills the room coming from a panel of screens set up in a wide arc showing different parts of the mansion and estate. A large wingback chair sits in front of them with a curl of smoke drifting upwards over the back. From what John can see, wires are strewn all across the floor, covering silvery lines that seem to be drawn in some sort of circular design. John huffs to himself at the cliche satanic ritual set up that it looks like, especially when he sees candles dripping red wax over diamonds the size of his fist. One of those would pay for his entire college tuition and then a baking course for his father.

Amidst all of the random items and construction throughout the room, John spies a long handled sledge hammer leaning up against the wall. He moves around the edge of the room to it, picks it up, and then stalks over to Droog. He can see movement in a couple of the screens. He recognizes the white hair and dark skin instantly in the center. He feels righteous anger bubble up at him and it is reflected back from wherever Dave is.

“Hey Droog!” he calls out as he approaches.

The tall man unfolds himself from his chair. His nice suit’s crisp edges accentuate his body’s long lines and his gaunt face. The rounded hat is similar to your father’s but the harsh cigarette smoke is much different from the gentle pipe’s. His sharp gold eyes see the hammer in John’s hands and he goes to reach for his own weapon but John is already swinging.

“This one is for the people!” John shouts at the solid weight at the end of the arc collides with Droog’s jaw. The politician-turned-demon stumbles at the blow but doesn’t immediately go down like the Lust demon. His jaw hangs limply as Droog screams wordlessly in pain. John spins around to keep up the momentum of his heavy weapon. “And this one is for Dirk!” It catches Droog square in the ribs and John can hear the cracking of several bones and the gasp of air as the lungs are punctured. “And this is for Jake!” The third blow takes out his knee. The force of the blow twists it in the totally wrong direction. “And this is for Dave!” John lets out all of the rage built up in himself and pulls from the storm of Dave’s with the fourth and final hit that caves Droog’s skull in.

The body falls to the floor, twitching a little in its death throes before finally stilling. John watches as the silver and gold fire consumes the body and even the flecks of blood knocked free by the force of the blows. The screens watching the mansion go dark. John drops the hammer and runs back to the maze when he hears the sharp cracking of glass. It rises to a deafening volume as it seems like every mirror in the place shatters. John reaches the full mirror section of the maze just as every shard drops away from the metal frames as if water falling. Two larger cracks echo through the now open room.

John thanks his lucky stars that he is wearing his safety shoes as he runs across all of the sharp slivers towards the dark shivering mass that seems to have fallen from nowhere and is now slowly getting up. He moves to Dave’s side, sliding a little bit on the small pieces, as fast as he can.

“Dave, Dave. I want you, I need you, Dave. Please tell me you are alright.”

Dave’s head snaps up at the call, and John watches and feels the sheer relief that flows through Dave. The black wings snap out behind him and John finds himself in a tight embrace faster than he thought possible.

“I want you. I need you. I love you, John.”

He feels the wings wrap protectively around them. John wraps his own arms around Dave’s back, content to hug out the rush of emotions, until he feels wetness. “Dave! Dave, I think you are bleeding.”

“I fell on glass. What did you think would happen?”

“Where is your shirt? See, this is why you should wear shirts.”

“John, just shut up and hug me.” John sighs, but does as he’s told. He rests his chin on Dave’s shoulders and is about to close his eyes when he sees a streak of gold blur by. He turns Dave so he can follow the movement and finds two large gold wings stretched out behind Dirk kneeling next to Jake. The more John studies the new wings, the more he picks out details such as gears and pistons and other mechanical parts despite the near natural twitching and adjusting John would expect of an organic wing. He watches as Dirk scoops the apparently still catatonic Jake into his arms, bundling him close. The wings flap several times with fluid movement until Dirk lifts off the ground in a somewhat assisted jump. He heads to the entrance, avoiding all of the glass between him and his destination.

“Whoa.”

“Is my brother showing off and distracting you from comforting hug snuggles?”

“A little bit. But comforting hug snuggles really shouldn’t be held in the middle of a room full of glass.” John steps back a little. “Put away your wings.”

“Fine, I guess your ri-” Dave will deny any unmanly squeals he make as John leans down and picks him up bridal style. He clings to John’s neck as John literally sweeps him off his feet. “I can walk you know.”

“You have sneakers. I have boots. I win.” John announces as he starts walking, with the danger in questions crunching under his sturdier footwear. “Besides, apparently you have bird bones.”

“I do not. You are just stupidly strong I guess.”

“Why yes, Dave, I am very manly.” John ducks his head as Dave knocks the back of his head.

“Hey,” Dave’s tone shifts to a thoughtful one. “Obviously-”

“Are we going back to that word?”

“-you killed Droog. Hence the seven billion years of bad luck this place now has. But I have your knife.”

“Oh, I found a sledgehammer.”

“Oh. Of course you did. You lucky son of a bitch.” Dave just shakes his head at the information.

“Is it a big deal? Demon is dead. That’s what we came to do right?”

“Right. Mission accomplished, give the boy a gold star. Let’s pin the ribbon to your chest as soon as we can get the governor on the phone, oh wait, you apparently just bashed his head in with another blunt object.”

“He was a representative, not a governor.”

“Whatever,” Dave rolls his eyes as they reach the lobby. The sounds of John’s boots finally quiet down. “Hey John, coast is clear now. No glass or anything. John. John. You aren’t going to put me down are you?”

“Nope!” John smiles brightly as he carefully maneuvers Dave through the door frame without knocking his head or feet. He slows down when he sees Dirk sitting on the steps still holding Jake but with his wings put away. The gold lines and circles continue down from his shoulders to mid back and shimmer in the afternoon sun. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Yes,” Dirk answers softly, leaning down to kiss Jake’s forehead. “Sorry for the trouble with him.”

“Uh... No trouble really.” The sweetness of the kiss doesn’t surprise John as much as he thought it would. Neither he nor Dave comment on the wet streaks down Dirk’s cheeks that the demon tries to brush away as Jake stirs.

“Boy! That was a doozy of a trip, wasn’t it, Dirky?” Jake announces as his bright green eyes flutter open and he sits up.

“Stupid asshole djinni. What have I told you about running off from me?”

Jake squirms until he has rearranged himself on Dirk’s lap so that he is straddling the demon. “Uh... something about not doing it, right?” he asks cheerfully as if he should get a treat for getting the answer right. “Oh, but I did it. Does this mean you get to punish me?” John quickly carries Dave to the car as Dave tries not to laugh out loud at how fast Jake’s tone of voice shifted from childish innocence to seductive submission. They both pointedly ignore the muffled moans and soft kissing sounds and the way Jake rocks against Dirk’s lap.

“So...” John starts after setting Dave back on his feet.

“We really don’t need to wait for them to finish. In fact, it’s probably not a good idea to wait for them to finish because we just sorta killed the governor-”

“Representative.”

“-and I don’t need any more mental scarring from hearing my brother get off.”

“You make it sound like you’ve heard it before,” John states with a raised eyebrow. Dave just levels him a cool glare. “Okay, not asking about that story. As least not right now,” John adds under his breath. “Well, get in the car and we’ll go home to get you all the way patched up. Again.”

“It’s not my fault,” Dave pouts as he does what John says and slips into the passenger seat, not looking at the now half naked djinni. John runs around the car and gets in and pulls away from the mansion without Jake and Dirk looking up, too busy involved with each other.

 

 

 


	9. Arc 7 - Through Next Sunday

John pulls through the gates, which open automatically from the inside. He pulls out onto the road and heads directly home.

“So they are really going to do that? Out there?”

“Well, Jake isn’t one for modesty really. Never has been. And Dirk is pretty upset by what happened. I can only imagine.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t fun. I mean. Jake was all crazy like and he licked me and then he kissed me-” John misses the dark glower on Dave’s face at that “-and then went all catatonic on me, I mean, I really couldn’t get to him at all and his eyes did this weird color changing thing and I knew Dirk would be upset about that. Then the two of you went missing, like where did you guys even go? So then it was up to me to save everyone. Yeah, the normal not-supernatural guy had to save everyone. And you left me without a weapon; you had my knife. I had to make do and oh, oh, you should have heard me! I actually got to use the line ‘This is for the people!’ How cool is that? I got to deliver a one-liner and everything. Though it took a couple more shots to actually kill him. But in the end the hero prevails. Even without much help,” John finishes pointedly.

“Not like I was fucking daydreaming. I was going through living hell,” Dave snaps. John glances over at Dave and finds him slumped in his seat, heavy frown on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. “Being reminded of my station in life isn’t nice. Giving up the throne was hard to begin with. I’ve put up with being called a coward, a fraud, a loser, a disappointment, but those mirrors...” John feels the pangs of hurt resurface through their bond again, “Those mirrors twisted it into such a nightmare.” Dave falls silent.

John exits the highway and hates every street light between them and home.

“I ran away.” Dave’s voice is quiet and pitiful when he speaks again. It’s all John can do to keep his hands on the steering wheel and not pull him into a hug. “I ran away from my post. I didn’t want to be the Prince of Hell. Fuck, what a grand title. Prince of Hell. More like Minion of the Court. A pawn to be played with. A political tool to be used because he’s too stupid to know better, because he’s too trusting for his own good, because he’s naive and manipulatable. Because Bro told me to be.” The hurt in his voice echoes in the bond as well. John blinks away a couple of tears. “He wasn’t even surprised when I told him I was through. Maybe the girls told him already. But he didn’t react. Not that he ever reacts. No. That’s weak. I’m- Showing your emotions to your enemy is a weakness. School your emotions or be a better actor. You would think he could drop the mask around me though. You think he would have posed an argument against me leaving, a single word, something to make me think that maybe he wanted me there next to him. But he just let me walk out.

“Walk out. That’s an understatement. I fucking ran. I ran away. I fucking ran away and he didn’t care. No. He just went out and got a replacement. A better model. Someone who can actually do the political schmoozing without fucking up. A literal golden child.” John realizes that he’s talking about Dirk. “He fucking replaced his son and who can blame him. I’m not that great.”

John is about to argue with him, over that point in particular, when someone tries to swerve into his lane, disrupting John’s thoughts.

“Fuck. I’m not great. I mean, obviously. I can’t even kill a Pride demon and fuck that Lust demon. Why are you even with me? Like holy fuck I can’t even do my job. Fuck my life. Letting a human save my worthless ass. Even if you are angel touched, luck will only get you so far. And then it will be my fault when you die.”

“I’m not going to die, Dave.”

“If I can’t protect you from the demons you will! What if I hadn’t gotten to the Envies before they- I still wasn’t fast enough. You never should have met me. Fuck. Fuck!”

The actual air crackles around Dave with the curse. John spares a look after he turns into his neighborhood. Dave’s tattoos are like night against his chocolate skin. His hair is doing its almost glowing thing again and John swears his eyes are actually glowing red. A glance down to the hands gripping his upper arms reveals that his fingertips are pointed into claws that are threatening to puncture his skin. The fangs pressing against his lips have actually cut his lips. The air directly around him is shimmery like hot asphalt on the road ahead. And John swears that it’s actually darker than normal when he looks at Dave, like he is looking through a pair of sunglasses at him.

“Ex-Prince of Hell.” The glove compartment in front of Dave cracks with a fracture running from one corner to the opposite. “Worthless Knight.” Several more soft pops and John suspects that some of the plastic on the underside of the seat have started to crack as well. “Crappy boyfriend.” The visible edges of the seat are definitely being distressed as John makes the last few turns in the neighborhood with his house finally in sight. It feels like Dave is about to combust.

John pulls quickly into his driveway and throws the car into parked. Then without preamble goes to pull Dave into a kiss, but as soon as John’s fingers touch his cheek, he pulls his hand back with a hiss. Dave flinches down even further into his seat as the pain from the burn shoots across their bond and he gets a phantom singe on the palm of his hand as well.

“Fuck, fuck, fucked up, I’m fucked u-” John reaches out and touches him again, pressing his whole hand against Dave’s heated skin and refusing to pull back even as the pain sparks along the bond. But John also sends a strong message of safe, home, love though the bond which shoves the pain aside. Dave closes his eyes against the conflicting feelings and works on controlling his temperature as to keep it from hurting John anymore. His eyes snap open briefly as John pulls his face towards him for a kiss.

John’s lips feel the heat, but it has dissipated enough that it doesn’t burn. The bright coppery taste in his mouth still feels hot as the blood from Dave’s cut lip slips between John’s but John just flits his tongue out to get more. Dave opens up to John, leaning into the kiss despite the awkward console in between them. The hand on the side of his face moves around to slide into his hair, finding it damp with sweat. John explores Dave’s mouth through the kiss with his tongue, lapping up all of the excess blood. Dave’s dangerous fangs have retracted along with his lowered temperature, so John doesn’t cut himself as well when he runs the tip over them.

_You are safe. You are loved. You are mine and I want you._

The messages come through the bond loud and clear making Dave sob into the kiss. He reaches out and clings to John’s shirt, pulling him further into the kiss despite the uncomfortable seating. Hot tears run down his cheek as blue coils dance around his neck and wrists, interlocking with his own tattoos.

John pulls back far enough to look into his face and waits for Dave to open his eyes. His red eyes are deep and rich and wet but are no longer glowing.

“John!” Dave gasps out at the love so evident in John’s blue ones. He doesn’t need the bond to tell him what John is feeling, but it just compounds and reinforces the security and safety that John is exuding.

“Dave. _I want you, I need you_. I’m sorry you went through that. I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner. I’m sorry for making you worry. I’m sorry about your past. But I am not sorry about meeting you. I don’t care if that puts me into danger because I know you will come get me. The Envies proved that. And if you are in danger then I’ll always try to save you, we just proved that! Neither of us are delicate little flowers. Even if I am just human. I’m not going anywhere for a long time.”

“John.” It’s a pitiful plea to the powers that be to make that true and Dave hates himself for it, for both making the wish and for sounding so weak and pathetic but he needed to hear that from John.

John finally gets a sense of relief back through the bond and pulls Dave in again for another kiss. They continue to make out in the car until John begins to feel the twinges in his back from the awkward contortion due to making out in the car.

“Come on, let’s get inside. I need to bandage you up. Again.” The swell of love and concern through the bond helps mitigate the teasing tone in his voice. He doesn’t pull away immediately either, instead he swipes his thumb gently over Dave’s cheek. Dave leans into the touch, unwilling to move any farther either.

“I love you,” he admits softly.

John answers with a kiss to the tip of his nose that makes Dave scrunch his face up. They sigh together and climb out of the car. Dave feels all of his sore muscles stretch out from being still in the car, and the way he twists as he stands make the small cuts on his torso sting. He follows John into the house, trying to hide all of his stiff movements. John calls out for his father, but doesn’t get a response back. So instead John just grabs the first aid kit from the front hall closet and herds Dave up the stairs and into the bathroom.

Dave relaxes into the kiss just before John breaks it off to turn on the shower. Then he is back, touching Dave all over and taking off his pants. John shoves Dave towards the shower when he poses with his hands on his cocked hips and waggling eyebrows. Dave laughs and ducks under the hot water, grimacing as it hits all of the small cuts and scrapes along his back.

John steps in a moment later after stripping down as well. He’s slightly taken aback at the amount of red in the water that is swirling around the drain, but then it’s gone and the water runs clear again. He knows that’s why they are taking a shower first, but he didn’t realize Dave had just that much blood on him. His dark skin must have hidden more than John had thought. John makes a face when he thinks about the state of his car.

“Hey, don’t make that face at me. I am a wet, naked, sexy agent in your shower and demand more respect.”

“I wasn’t making a face at you, doofus,” John shrugs off, but does take notice of the body that is on display for him. White hair is slicked back off of Dave’s forehead and dripping rivulets of water down over his neck and collarbone. The shower spray continuously wets his chest, making Dave’s skin shine as John’s eyes track down his muscles to the now nearly translucent happy trail that widens just at the vee of Dave’s hips. His cock is heavy but still flaccid but the sight of water dripping off the tip has John’s body reacting a bit.

“My eyes are up here, John.”

“I’m not looking for your eyes, Dave.”

“How indecent.” Dave makes no moves to cover himself though. Instead he reaches out for John’s hand and pulls him into the water. John sputters a bit as the water hits him in the face but then it’s blocked by Dave’s head as he leans in to kiss him. John’s shivers are chased away by hot water sluicing over his skin at Dave’s direction.

John reaches out for the soap and pulls Dave out of the water just enough to keep the suds on his skin long enough to clean him. Dave lets John run his hands over him entirely, hiding the pain when the soap stings at the larger injuries. He focuses on the tender care John provides instead. When John tries to direct him to turn around to get his back, Dave just steps in closer, tucking his narrow body against John’s wider build. His lips go to John’s neck, where he tastes like clean water already. John just rolls his eyes but starts washing Dave’s back the best he can with his arms wrapped around him.

“This would be easier the other way around.”

“But much less sexy.”

“Dunno, Dave, you have a pretty sexy ass,” one of John’s hands drops down to grope it before returning to his back.

“Yeah, but I like ogling you as well.”

“You’re not ogling me as much as you are giving me hickeys.”

“Close eno-” Dave’s breath catches in his throat as John’s hand brushes over something hard embedded on the side of his back. John frowns and forcibly turns him around, pushing him a bit forward to lean his hands against the wall, giving John a better view. He finds the piece of glass digging into Dave’s skin. With careful precision, he pries it out, cupping the extracted piece in his hand. The fresh blood is quickly washed away along with all the soap that had built up on his back.

“Dave, are you trying to become a stained glass window? Why didn’t you tell me you still had shards of glass stuck in you?”

“Didn’t really realize? I’ve been kinda busy wading through guilt and self doubt and an entire marsh of bad feelings and not to mention fleeing my brother and his consort’s post demon sex show. Why did it have to be mirrors?” Dave starts to stand up but John’s hand immediately pushes him back down.

“Nope. There are a couple more pieces. Hold still.” In the odd light above the shower, John can see the glitter of a couple sharp edges, bright against the dark skin of his lower back and hip. They probably got that deep from the initial fall. They are all above a certain point that John would assume would be his jeans. If Dave had managed to keep a shirt on, maybe they wouldn’t be this bad. Instead, John ends up half crouched behind his boyfriend picking out pieces of glass from of his ass. The small pile in his hand grows but thankfully the blood that wells up quickly dissipates in the hot water.

After running his hands over the smooth skin and not finding any more bits, John carefully stacks the glass on the edge of the tub where they hopefully won’t knock it over and step on it when they get out.

“Done?”

“Done.”

“Good-” Dave stops as John’s hand is returns to his back, holding him in place. “Um. Can I get up now?”

“Nope.” John reaches behind him for the bottle of conditioner. “I have some slippery theories I want to test out.”

“Really?” Dave asks in disbelief.

“Really.” The snap of the cap opening adds an extra certainty to John’s words.

“Oh.” Dave holds his position as John covers his fingers before touching Dave. He only jerks a little bit as the coolness of the conditioner brushes over his sensitive skin as John drags his fingers down his crack. John leans over to kiss Dave’s neck as his hand turns to cup Dave’s ass. Dave lets out a sweet sounding gasp as John presses inward.

Dave is so hot compared to John’s fingers even as the conditioner heats up quickly, but Dave finds that he likes the contrast in temperatures. He can distinctly feel John’s fingertips and knuckles as they slide into him, he can feel them twist and curl inside of him, he can feel them search for and brush against that certain spot that makes him moan into the wall. Sudden claws scrape against the tile creating a terrible sound that makes them both wince.

“Try not to destroy the bathroom, Dave.”

“Fuck you, John.”

“Other way around, sweetheart.”

“Oh, so we’re at the pet name stage, babe?”

“Why not? I have three fingers up your ass, sugar lips.” Dave tightens up around said fingers as he laughs.

“Alright, candy tits, if you are so eager to fuck me, get on with it.” Dave finishes the statement with a moan that ruins the complaint.

But John obliges and pulls his fingers out with a slick pop. He rubs the excess over himself and then tries to step up. But the height of their hips aren’t lining up. John tries to tap Dave’s legs apart but they already are at the widest part of the tub. John tries putting his foot up on the edge of the tub but as he leans forward, his foot slips and he almost falls against Dave.

“Fuck, John, I thought you wanted to fuck me.”

“I’m trying. It’s just... wow shower sex is a lot harder than it looks like in p- A lot harder than it would seem.”

Dave snickers at John and straightens up. He pulls John into a kiss and pushes him up against the wall. John hisses at the cold tile against his back as Dave pushes against him. Dave’s leg comes up around John’s hip. John’s hand immediately cups his ass and pulls him closer. They gasp as their cocks align and slide promisingly together. Dave tucks his head into the crook of John’s neck and his lips find the wet skin. John tries to lift him up. The actual lift is easy with his strong arms and Dave gasps as John’s cock slips under his ass but as Dave settles against him, John’s feet once against slip against the curve of the tub.

The only way they don’t go down is Dave’s quick reflexes and his claws digging into the tiles again as he swings off of John. John clings to him as his heart thumps at the close call.

“Dude,” Dave sighs at him.

“Yeah. This isn’t working,” John agrees. “Let’s clean up and then head to bed?”

“Probably best. Fucking against silk sheets is much better than slick tiles.” Dave nods and ducks under the spout, letting the hot water sluice over him, washing away John’s attempt at lube.

“I don’t have silk sheets.” John frowns as he lets his hands run over Dave’s body. Dave turns towards him and left his arms to hook around John’s neck, leaning into the touches.

“I’ll settle for cotton sheets,” Dave murmurs against John’s lips before kissing him. But he keeps the kisses soft and sweet. They don’t slip into the heated passion from before.

John eventually fumbles behind them and turns off the water. They tumble out of the shower and onto the bath mat. Dave makes some comment like ‘Thank Dadbert” when he notices that there are extra towels hanging up so John’s greedy cute ass doesn’t hog them all. The towels are fluffy and soft and perfect for lifting the water from their skin without disturbing the bruises underneath. Dave glances at the one that dried his back but he doesn’t see any of the telltale pink which means the small wounds have already closed.

The drying process is of course interrupted by small kisses between them, not always landing on each other’s lips. Sometimes it to the shoulder or back of the neck, or hip as John leans over to dry his legs, or belly button on the way as John stands back up. John laughs at how Dave’s hair sticks out in every which direction as the towel comes off his head. Dave retaliates and uses the same towel to go after John’s hair which comes out even messier. His soft curls frame his face in a way that Dave can’t resist and he has to kiss him until John falls back onto the bed.

Dave is instantly on top of him crawling up his body, leaving kisses along his chest until he can reclaim those lips he lost in the fall. He presses John into the mattress with the kiss, but it’s still slow and unhurried, even with a naked Dave straddling a naked John. They are both still somewhat aroused, and slowly getting back to the passion from the shower but in a lazy manner. John enjoys the hot weight of Dave as he stretches out over him, bringing his arms up around Dave’s shoulder to pull him closer.

They open their mouths against each other, tongues sliding wetly as they explore. John shivers as Dave’s tongue skims the back of his large front teeth. Dave moans as John sucks lightly on his tongue. Their heads are tilted to each other as they kiss until they take a break, Dave resting his forehead against John’s. Bright blue eyes stare up at red ones that show such depth and intensity.

“ _I want you, I need you_ ,” John whispers gently. They both gasp as the bond between them opens and the lights flare on their torsos, John casting red on Dave and Dave casting blue on John. The come together with the kiss again, relaxing and falling into each other.

Dave begins a slow undulation against John, encouraged to move more as John’s hands slide down to his ass. Dave grins into the kiss as John kneads the dark flesh. The kiss eventually dissolves into panting and soft moans as Dave ruts down against John and John arches up against Dave. It may be a slow build up but they both feel the pressure of pleasure at their cores.

Dave gasps as John’s fingers brush over his entrance, still soft from his work in the shower.

“D’ya wanna...?” Dave murmurs into John’s ears.

John answers with a shake if his head. “Don’t wanna stop and find the lube. Unless you want to?”

“Nah.” Dave rolls his hips sharply down against John’s, feeling their cocks brush hotly against each other. “I think this is good...” he trails off as he mouths at John’s neck, the human’s pale skin better for marking. John gasps as he feels the light graze of Dave’s teeth. He retaliates by grabbing Dave’s ass and pulling him harder down against him. Dave rocks his hips in time with John’s pulls and the friction makes them moan together.

“ _I want you, I need you_ ,” John murmurs again out over Dave’s shoulder. The marks light up brightly but don’t fade this time as the bond between them is flooded with strong feelings. From John’s side, Dave is washed with _home, safe, acceptance_. Dave cries out at the tenderness that the feelings wrap him up with. John feels an echo of the same sentiments coming back at him but they are almost completely buried by the _protect, cherish, devotion_ that he feels pouring out of Dave. His breath is taken away by the raw intensity of it. They both lose their ability to form words between the feelings and pleasure that races between them at every point of contact, but they don’t need to use words to keep the bond open.

“Dave,” John breathes out. “F-fuck.”

“Yeah,” Dave agrees, knowing exactly what he is feeling. at this point the source of the feelings down matter anymore after being reflected and passed back and forth so many times.  

All of the lingering darkness and worries Dave has after the ordeal with Droog are chased away. No more thoughts about danger to John. No more thoughts about the politics in Hell. No more dark mirrors showing him falsehoods and twists truths. All he can feel is how brightly John feels for him. He can picture the truth as John sees it. That they’ll protect each other against whatever may come their way.

Any doubts that John has about going too fast with Dave are banished. Any lingering confusion about Hell and Sin is swept away under the trust he puts into Dave. Even with the knowledge that he is an agent of hell and all of the connotations that brings, he knows that Dave will have his back as much as he will have Dave’s. Their bond, while brief, feels deep and right, like they belong together. He feels lucky to have found Dave.

They banish the shadows so all they have left are these warm feelings of happiness.

John’s hands dig into Dave’s back as he pulls them close together. Their chests touch, red glow mixing in with blue. The gear burns brightly as it kisses dark skin. The blue curls dance with Dave’s black tattoos. His eyes glow in the brief moment they are open when he pulls back to look at John before kissing him soundly. He shifts his weight to one arm so he can use the other to slide into John’s unruly hair. John runs his tongue over Dave’s sharp teeth as he tastes Dave. Every small action seems magnified as they feel each from both side through the bond.

They are hot against each other, their cocks lined up and rubbing against each other just right. They feel like they are floating, riding wave after wave of pleasure and happiness. They almost don’t want to peak because they don’t ever want to come down from this bliss but they can’t deny the pressure building up at their cores.

Together they reach down between them, a hand from each side and grip their cocks together. They increase the pace until neither of them can continue the kiss through their heavy panting. Instead they stare at each other with goofy ass grins as red gets lost in blue and blue gets lost in red.

It isn’t a sharp release, but more like a bubbling over as they come together with the other’s name on their lips. They spill out over John’s stomach, hands moving slowly but still moving to milk the last bit of their orgasms out. They stay close together for a while, letting the feelings of home, pleasure, adoration echo through the bond. It takes a long while for their breaths to calm and for their hearts to stop beating so hard. It takes even longer for the red and blue glows to fade away.

John breaks the moment first by laughing and pushing Dave gently off to the side, complaining jovially about how hot the agent of Hell is when he’s on top. Dave lets himself flop bonelessly against the comforter, head falling back towards John. He peers out from the long white bangs that try to cover his eyes but he makes no move to brush them aside.

“Of course I’m hot. I mean, just look at this bod. It’s smoking. No literally I think I just set your bed on fire. Someone call the fucking fire department because this boy is gonna set the house on fire he’s so rocking.

“Pft, you better not set the bed on fire or you’ll be sleeping on the couch.”

“You gonna do me like that?”

“Only if you don’t control yourself.”

“I can’t control myself around you, babe,” Dave delivers with a wide grin that sends John into hysterics.

John has to wipe his eyes once he figures out to breathe again, then he reaches out and gently brushes those bangs out of Dave’s eyes, dragging his fingers down his cheek.

“Wow that was mushy. I think I have cavities now. You are going to have to pay for my dental work, John. So you know how hard it is to maintain these pearly whites?”

“Does Hell have a good dental plan? Could I get on it?”

“No. You’re too cute the way you are.”

“Now who’s being saccharine?” John tries to roll over and flop on Dave but as he twists he feels the mess they left on his stomach. “Ew... I’m gross. I’m taking another shower.”

“Holy shit, you take more showers than Dirk.”

“More showers than your unhygienic ass apparently,” John shoots back at him as he scoots off the bed.

“Hey! I shower plenty.”

“This would be an invitation for you to join me again, dumbass.” John leans over and kisses Dave’s frowning face.

“Oh. Then we get to do this all over again, right?”

“No.”

“Awww, c’mon!”

“No!” John calls back over his shoulder as he leaves the room. Dave just smirks to himself.

 


	10. Arc 8 (Part 1) - Sloth

“Dave! Dave! I need to get up!”

“Mrrrmph,” comes to reply as Dave’s face is squished up against John’s chest. His arms are wrapped tightly around John’s chest as he lays halfway on top of the human. John lets out a long suffering sigh that ruffles Dave’s hair.

“Dave, it’s Monday. I have work.”

“Sun ain’t even up,” Dave complains, loathing the idea that he might have to give up his wonderful body pillow.

“No it’s not, but we humans haven’t worked according to the sun for centuries. There is something called electricity you know. It’s a wonderful invention. You should look into it.”

Dave lifts his head up just enough to cast John a baleful eye. “Did you just call me old? Did you just infer that I’m a dinosaur?”

“What’s the correct answer to get you up off of me?”

“Boys! Do you want pancakes?” James calls from downstairs.

“That. That is the right answer.” Dave slowly extricates himself from the comfortable position wrapped around John. He yawns and stretches and John swears he can hear the faint rustling of wings as well. But John doesn’t have time to dwell on it as he has to dash around like mad to put together his outfit for the day. Dave watches with only one eye open from his nest of blankets. Ghost print boxers, well worn jeans, basic white t-shirt, tall tube socks, steel-toed work boots, and then John goes to grab his belt.

“Well fuck. We never get actually get the chance to replace this. Now what am I going to do?” He holds up the broken pieces before signing heavily again. then he starts undoing and pulling all of the accessories off. 

Dave’s phone, which has somehow either stayed on the bed or climbed back on, buzzes next to Dave who stares at it with contempt.

}:-| : What size belt does he wear.   
TG: idk   
}:-| : Ask him.

“Hey, John. What size belt was that before it got sliced to ribbons because it was in the way between me and a delicious chunk of hunk which is the greatest of crimes and punishable by death so I guess it’s end is fitting. It got what it deserved and can be laid to rest in its shame. May it’s story ever be passed down to future generations to that they know to let your pants go and not to suffer the same fate.”

“I would prefer if you didn’t call my equipment a chunk. Sounds like you are either called it a piece of meat or a block of legos.”

“You aren’t answering the question.”

“There was a question? There was a question in all of that word vomit?”

“What size belt?”

“Oh. Something like a thirty-four.”

TG: 34   
TG: why   
TG: granted i should have asked that first   
}:-| : Just think of it as my wedding present.

There is a soft pop and a cloud of smoke and suddenly there is a brand new belt sitting on the bed. Complete with top of the line copies of the accessories John had on his old one. 

“Whoa. Cool. How’d you do that? And why didn’t you do that before?” John interrogates. 

“It’s Bro. Just think of it as... a thank you gift.”

“Thank you?”

“For killing the Lust and Pride demon and leading me to a den of Envies. You seem to be a better amulet than your actual piece of crap amulet you have.”

“It’s not a piece of crap! Or at least it wasn’t. I might have dropped it a few times... But Jade’s work is awesome and stop shitting on it!”

“Fine, fine, the witch got talent. But it’s being wasted on you.”

“You think you can do better?”

“Actually...” Dave finally shuffles off of the bed and walks over to the window. John can’t help himself when his eyes trail after Dave’s ass. “Pass me the amulet. I’m going to have the dickprince take a look at it. He’s a tinkerer. He can probably also make it not react or react differently to agents versus actual demons.”

John eyes him suspiciously, especially after Dave throws up the window sash. John is thankful that it’s still dark out and Dave wouldn’t be exposing himself to anyone. At Dave’s grabby hands, John finds and tosses the amulet at Dave. Seconds later something black flies to the window sill. John can barely see the outline against the dark morning sky but figures out that it is a crow that Dave has called up. Dave mutters lowly at it as it picks up the amulet in its beak and then with another flutter of feathers it is gone.

“Okay time for pancakes.”

“Pants first.”

“Pancakes don’t wait for pants.” 

John manages to get Dave to wear some pants and even put on a t-shirt before they headed downstairs for coffee and pancakes. Breakfast is a quiet affair as everyone eats and wakes up. James shares that he has to go into the office today but then he will patrol a bit in the north side of the city since there has been so much activity of late, they need to be proactive about it. John agrees and offers to patrol the south side a bit if he isn’t too tired after work. 

Just as the dawn light is breaking through the kitchen window and Dave is squinting and trying to figure out how to wrangle a couple more hours of sleep, John is dragging him out to the car. He’s buckled up and John is pulling out of the driveway before he thinks to argue. 

“Wait, why am I going to your work?”

“Because I didn’t want you to get bored or lonely. If you got bored, you’d probably cause trouble. And if you got lonely you’d probably text me or call me or worst case scenario come find me at work. So we are avoiding the temptation for trouble and skipping to the end for the other one.”

Dave doesn’t have the brainpower yet to refute John’s logic so he just slumps down in his seat. The movement makes the leather and plastic crack which reminds him of the damage that he accidentally inflicted yesterday. Scraping together what few thought processes he has available this early in the morning, Dave comes up with a plan.

“After we drop you off at work, why don’t I go take the car to get fixed. I know someone who will fix it up better than it was when you got it and not in that weird way that the fucking djinni did with the radio system but in a normal, well mostly normal, fashion. But definitely they can fix up the number the weight of my emotional baggage did on the interior plus the few dings that I saw on the outside. Did they really give you a license, John? Or did you get a fake one that probably has a dumb name on it like Zoosmell Pooplord that no one has caught yet because they don’t actually look at the name or the picture anymore, they just do the cursory ‘oh look I’m looking at this’ and then wave you on because I’m pretty sure mine has my real birth date and no one has questioned why I am still alive.”

“Why do agents of Hell need licenses?” John scrunches his face up in thought. “And how much for the repairs?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s on me. My damage, my repair.”

“Did I get bonded to a sugar daddy?”

“I’ll be your sugar daddy as long as I get some tail. I mean, I am kinda filthy rich. Stock markets are pretty silly when you have centuries to play with.”

“Marry me.”

“Heck no. I’m not going to make an honest woman out of a gold digger like you just so you can divorce me a week after the honeymoon citing an unhappy sex life because wow that would be a bold face lie but at this point you’d claim anything to get your little grubby hands on my treasure.”

“So you bond to my soul and be my bitch, but you won’t marry me. Mixed signals, Dave.”

“What can I say, I’m a fickle woman who needs to be wooed constantly and dragging me to work with you is not on the approved wooing techniques list. So do I get to take your car to get it fix or are you going to drive around in this heap of junk forever?

“Delilah.”

“Wha?”

“Her name is Delilah and you better treat her well.”

“Of course. I’ll run every stop sign, ride the brakes, and leave tire marks all over the supermarket parking lot as I make donuts.” 

“Dave, if you hurt Delilah, you’re sleeping on the couch for a week. How’s that for wooing.”

“I’m not sure how serious you think I am or if that’s just the pre coffee lizard brain giving me threats because could you really pass up this temptation?” John glances over and finds that Dave is pulling up his shirt as if trying to show off his body.

“Or I could ask your brother for some inventive ways to punish you with that puppet thing you mentioned.”

“Oh fuck. Fuck no. I’ll be good. I promise.” Dave drops his shirt and sits up looking pretty in his seat. 

“Good.” John pulls into the lot in front of the construction zone and parks. “Now come here. My lizard brain needs a kiss.” John pulls at him and meets him half way over the console for a squished kiss that John leaves with an over exaggerated smack of his lips before climbing out of the car. 

Dave sits there dazed for a moment before calling out, “Be safe, sweetheart!” He then slides over the middle of the car into the driver’s seat, being too lazy to get out and walk around. Frowning at the controls, he tries to remember how to drive a car.

John bounces up to the usual morning meet up place with only a shadow of a doubt that Dave would be able to handle his car properly. He greets his coworkers with his usual cheer as they hand him a cup of coffee. He settles down amidst the chatter and listens into everyone’s weekend adventures. Of course he can’t share too many details of his own but as one of the youngest on the team, he’s not taken too seriously anyways. 

After a while, John glances at the clock and notices they are past their usual start time but the site manager still hasn’t shown up to give them their dailys. He’s usually so punctual with a habit of tearing into anyone who is even a minute late (it had been one time and John swears that he caught every single red light and was behind a parade of old ladies). Just about when John is going to say something about it, the man appears with an excuse about a wild weekend in Vegas. Everyone is allowed a slip up every now and then so John puts it out of his mind as the group settles in to listen. Well he does until he hears the manager giving everyone their daily tasks.

The tasks are all pretty vague and not really enough to fill the whole day. Usually the manager has everything laid out for the whole week so that they can stay on schedule. But right now it sounds like he’s never built anything before. He dismisses everyone with a wave of his hand, continuing to wave off questions about the bad directions. Confused, everyone begins to shuffle away.

“Egbert, wait.” John pauses and looks back at the manager who just walks up to him and grabs the half cup of coffee out of his hands. “Thanks. Now get to work.”

John stares and frowns at the bizarre behavior. Then he turns and does what he’s been told. Unfortunately he completes his given ‘daily’ task within the hour. Usually the manager gives him a written list of what he wants done since John can work on the small stuff quickly. Apparently Vegas was just a little too much fun for the manager. John’s a bit sore himself from all of the adventures with Dave.

John glances around and notices a couple of the guys also done with their jobs. He knows the deadline is coming up and if they don’t hit the deadline then they don’t get their bonuses and John knows that some of these guys need that money. 

Having worked with the site manager for a while now, John knows the typical work. Looking around he notices a couple of the jobs still left undone. He grabs his coworkers that are done and reassigns their dailys, adding more work with the explanation of what will happen to their bonuses and a little fib that the manager told him to take over. The fib is supported by the fact that the manager doesn’t come out of his office all day long. John manages to keep everyone busy with only a couple complaints. By the end of the day, he is so distracted thinking about what could be wrong that he almost forgets about Dave having his car.

He hears a wolf whistle and looks up to see Dave in the parking lot posing next to Delilah -and wow John isn’t sure his car has ever looked so nice and shiny and undented- with his borrowed glasses doing nothing to cover the stupid eyebrow waggles going on. John almost facepalms at the show before he realizes Dave is for some reason, once again, shirtless. John goes for a double-handed facepalm instead and his ears turn bright red when some of the other guys start to notice Dave’s antics.

“John, when did you get a boyfriend and where can I get one just like him?” one of the other young men asks while nudging him in the side. 

“Dang kid, what kind of black magic deal with the devil did you make...and did he fix your car? Wow,” one of the older guys comments and John just groans.

“Just uh, you know, I was out hunting demons and then I forced this hellion to bond with me and now, poof, hot boyfriend,” John tries to sound sarcastic but his blush is ruining the effect as his fellow workers chuckle while he walks quickly towards Dave. He snatches the keys that Dave is twirling on his fingers and can’t decide if he wants to try and push past Dave or berate him for being shirtless again, but his boyfriend just keeps smirking.

“How was work, honey?”

“You are such a...a urhg!” John gives up on staying cool and pulls Dave into a kiss that has Dave gasping in surprise and trailing after him when John pulls away to the sound of whistles and cheers from his coworkers. “Come on, get in the car, Dave, before I embarrass myself to death or scar my coworkers,” he shoves gently to get Dave moving and they both get in and start up the car with a quick, “See ya tomorrow!” yelled at the mob as John peels out of the parking lot.

“I love it when the truth is just so fantastical that no one believes it even when you say it straight,” Dave comments while stretching out in his seat. “Though hellion is a kinda cute nickname.”

John’s not listening to him as he takes in the state of his car. The hood is almost blinding with how shiny and waxed it is. He didn’t really realize how much gunk the tree in his front yard had dropped onto it until it’s gone. The dashboard doesn’t have a speck of dust on it and the radio display has all of its lights again. Even the oil indicator behind the glass has been fixed and is no longer listing to the right. A quick glance around and the upholstery seems to be missing the usual ketchup stain and in fact looks brand new. There’s no dirt on the mat under his feet except that which he just brought in from the construction site and now he feels bad that he dirtied it so fast. There aren’t even the little bits of petrified french fry along the seams of the car. Even the driving feels smoother, from the acceleration no longer choking on the gas, to the springs no longer groaning like ghosts in a graveyard. 

“What did you do to my car, hellion?”

“I fixed it?” It was supposed to be a statement but it comes out as a question as he can’t quite read John’s mood. Even with the bond there’s just static around John. “What? Did you like the french fries and mold spores? Were they sentimental? I mean, they were nearly sentient. Shit. People are weird about their cars.”

“It’s... It’s so clean.”

“Still not sure if you are angry or not. Give me something. Did I do wrong or right? Or are you upset I picked you up like that? I don’t think so because of the kiss but hey I’ve been hate snogged before.”

“That’s a totally separate issue. They didn’t even know I was gay, Dave. And there you are showing off without a shirt and a shiny version of my car, what did you even do to my Delilah, and where the heck is your shirt? That was one of my shirts. where do they keep going? Seriously, are you allergic to them?”

“John. John, I still can’t tell what to feel. I don’t know if I should be looking forward to thank you sex or if I should be preparing to duck and roll out of the moving car. Give me something, John. Anything. Please. Oh shit, look I’m begging.”

“I want to hear a lot more of that as I am pounding you into the mattress when we get home.”

“Oh. Oh fuck yes!” Dave punches the air, relieved that John’s not angry about the updates to his car, his Delilah, but in fact is happy enough to have that thank you sex and fuck him silly.

John keeps noticing other little improvements around the car as Dave nearly vibrates with excitement in his seat. Well, vibrate would be a little too strong of a descriptor but how fast Dave’s fingers are tapping against the side of the door, it’s the best way to describe his internal emotions. 

They manage to wait until they are inside before crashing together in a heated kiss. John decides that Dave being shirtless might be okay just because it’s one less layer between them and one less thing to take off. Dave is surprised as John steers him towards the living room instead of the stairs. He lets out a confused noise into John’s mouth, which does  _ not _ turn into a squeak as he is tipped backward onto the couch.

“This is closer,” John explains before covering Dave up with his body. Dave’s not one to argue with that logic as he works to get John’s shirt off of him and jeans off his hips. He struggles a bit with the new belt but just growls instead of ripping it up because he’s already escaped John’s ire once today, he doesn’t need to invite it a second time. He groans loudly as John grinds down against him after being freed, his boner evident even over the denim of Dave’s jeans. Dave is feeling positively trapped between them and his hot boyfriend who has taken to chewing on his neck. John’s blunt teeth feel fantastic against his skin and keep making his breath catch in his throat. He can’t quite get his hand back between him and John to get rid of the last piece of clothing.

“John... John... please! Please! Fuck I need to get undressed. Remember you are going to fuck me? Pound me into the mattress? Well I guess couch now. Pound me into the cushions. But to do that pants... pants need to come off. So just move your fat cute ass just a little bit,” Dave whines. 

“Hmmm,” the hum feels fantastic against his skin. “Alright.” Instead of just lifting his hips, John pulls his entire body off causing Dave to bite back a whine. Then it’s a little bit of awkward shuffling and Dave ends up on top straddling John’s hips. Dave can’t help the shiver that runs down his spine as John rakes his eyes over his naked torso. “What are you waiting for then?”

It's not quite what Dave was hoping for but it works. He puts on a smirk as he takes off his pants. He climbs to his feet, towering over John. He rolls his hips as he slides the jeans down. He enjoys the blush that blooms across John's face even as he licks his lips at the sight. Dave palms the small tube of lube, which he picked up while running errands because as much as Bro is a good porn fairy, he can be a little unreliable at times, before tossing his jeans to the side.

He continues his sexy show after covering his fingers with slick liquid and reaching behind himself. He quickly opens himself up, losing a bit of focus as it feels so good. John brings him back into focus with a caress of his calf. John looks painfully hard and he feels an ache himself as he  _ needs _ John inside of him now. He thinks that John might be feeling that through the bond they share because John's touch on his legs becomes a hard grip and drags him down. 

They both groan as their cocks rub against each other as Dave falls carefully to his knees. His fingers slip out of his readied hole and he’s looking forward to getting this show on the road. John seems to have other plans as a strong hand gets tangled up in Dave’s hair, pulling him into a heated kiss. Dave eagerly kisses him back, for a while. Then he starts up a whine from the back of his throat as he wants more than just kissing as good as this is. He can feel the want rolling off of John as well so he has no idea what is holding the man back. He has to dig his claws into John’s chest to push away from his kiss and grip.

“It’s almost like you want your dad to walk in on us, John. We don’t have time for this, I want your dick in my ass like fifteen minutes ago.”

“Nothing’s stopping you,” John says smugly as he rolls his hips up against Dave’s ass.

“Fuck,” he hisses out. He reaches back behind him and lifts John’s cock up so he can lower himself down on it. He goes only as slow as necessary, sick and tired of waiting and teasing. John seems to appreciate the rush as he moans loudly. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Ride me, Dave, Ride me hard.” His eyes flash blue up at him

“Yes sir,” Dave groans out as he starts to rock his hips against John’s cock. John’s hands grip him like he’s afraid Dave is going to run away, but leaving is the furthest thing from Dave’s mind. He moves against John just right to keep his cock brushing just right inside of him, gasping at the electric feeling.

“You’re so tight, Dave.” John bucks up to interrupt Dave’s rhythm and make him flail a little bit, the movement feeling good on his cock. “Yeah, that’s it, take it, take it, take me.”

Dave falls forward and once again claws dig into John’s chest, not enough to draw blood but red marks will be left behind anyways. He growls lowly at John but quickly adapts to the new rhythm. He rolls and swirls his hips to make John give him such sweet sounds. He licks up the column of John’s throat, tasting the slight sweat on his skin on top of something that is pure John. Something sweet and musky at the same time. Dave wants it forever on his tongue. He captures John’s lips in a searing kiss. It’s not lazy one from before but much more hungry. John seems to come alive and give back more as the fucking continues. The couch groans a little in protest, but that’s drowned out by the moaning building up between them that peaks with cries of their names as they come together. Their pleasure is shared and reflected through the bond, bouncing back and forth before finally echoing out. They find themselves staring into the other’s eyes panting hard. 

“Fuck, John, that’s one hell of a thanks.”

“Sometimes you deserve it. Just don’t let it go to your head, hellion.”

“Too late.” Dave leans down and kisses him lazily. “Hm, we should probably move off the couch. Maybe go upstairs for a round two?” He throws in some extra eyebrow waggles that John just faughs at. 

“Insatiable. But no. I told Dad I’d go patrolling a bit. With all of the extra activity I am a bit concerned.” He pushes Dave’s hips up, the two of them hissing as he slips out of Dave.

“Yeah, fine, ruin all of my fun.” He stands up away from the couch, giving John space to get up as well. “But I know what you’re talking about. We’ve hit a lot of demons. Even for a gate city. Could just be my paranoia but it feels like something is going on.”

“Exactly. Let’s go clean up and then take Delilah out for a spin.” He heads upstairs with his outfit in his arms. Dave just watches his cute ass go.

Fifteen minutes later without a round two as much as Dave’s grabby hands attempted, the two of them are back in the car heading to the south side of the city, searching the best they can without Jade’s demon tracker. But even Dave’s natural senses aren’t picking anything up. Only the most fleeting signals, ones that by the time John points the car in the right direction, it’s already faded. The weirdest incident they had was being caught in a rolling blackout. They were on top of a hill at the time and able to see the swath of darkness crossing the neighborhoods.

“That can’t be normal for big cities like Seattle,” Dave comments.

“Been happening more recently. I haven’t heard of any issues in the news but sometimes governments don’t like to give all of their secrets away. Probably just some work going on at the power plants. Nothing worse than a bad storm might cause. I’ve seen worst in ice storms,” John explains.

“Yeah... I guess. What would I know about such a new fangled piece of technology such as electricity. Let’s go home. We’re not finding anything. And I guess you still have work tomorrow at buttfuck early in the morning.”

John just snickers and turns the car home. Dad has just about a much luck as the boys did. Similar faint readings and a blackout as well. But no definite leads. He bids the boys goodnight before retiring. 

Despite Dave’s amorous touches, John also heads to bed, for some actual sleep citing how he has work in the morning and more patrolling in the afternoon. He only gets some peace when he bribes Dave with the promise of more sex tomorrow. 


	11. Arc 8 (Part 2) - Sloth

“John. John. John.” Dave pokes at John’s shoulder until the brunette finally stirs.

“What?” he asks grumpily.

“Either get up or go back to sleep but either way, turn off the fucking alarm clock.”

“What?” he asks with more of a confused tone. Then he finally hears the chiming coming from his phone. “Oh. Shit. Guess it’s time to get up.” He hits his phone to make it go quiet before rolling out of bed for his normal morning routine. Dave grumbles that John didn’t take the second offer of going back to sleep. There was still the promise of sex to fulfill, but John doesn’t seem to give a damn about that as he gets ready while Dave rolls over for a couple more minutes of sleep. The smell of bacon finally rousts Dave enough to follow John downstairs after being goaded into putting on a shirt. 

Dave still isn’t fully awake when John drives him to the construction site but is nursing on a cup of coffee that Dad put together for him in a to go cup. He doesn’t have another errand to run while John’s at work so he’ll just tag along to see what real ‘hard work’ looks like. He’s not really impressed when the first hour is just sitting around a room waiting for someone to tell them what to do. John explain that it’s usually the site manager’s job to do so but he’s late, again. Even later than yesterday according to John. But he does show up eventually and gives a list of tasks that doesn’t sound like ‘hard work’ at all, Dave comments into his nearly empty cup of coffee. Thankfully these folks have John to take the reins as the manager disappears into the back without answering any of the questions the other men are asking. John looks good in a role of power, barking out orders that sound a lot more like earning a paycheck. Some of the men groan and look like rebellion but Dave’s subtle flick of an eyebrow shuts them up. Glad to know he still has that talent. One doesn’t help rule Hell without learning a few tricks. 

Once everyone knows what they are doing, the group breaks and Dave follows John to where he’s working. It looks like some sort of extra kitchen. There aren’t any great seats around but Dave knows how to make due with a large bucket of drywall mud, after making sure that it’s locked tight. 

“So how finished do the walls need to be before I can fuck you against them?” he leers at John.

“No, Dave.”

“Yes, Dave. How else am I supposed to pass the time? Staring at your great wonderful ass is only going to exacerbate the problem.”

“You’re not allowed to jerk off either.”

“What?” he says with an impressive amount of offense in his voice. “That’s not fair! I can’t touch you. I can’t touch myself. What am I supposed to touch then?”

“You could make yourself useful and actually help me get one of these walls done enough to fuck against,” John shrugs.

Dave doesn’t know the difference between a screw or a nail but he’ll help however he can so he can be screwed or nailed up against the wall. 

* * *

They actually get two walls up and wired before lunch, during which they actually go get food instead of Dave’s suggestion of just sucking on some meat. John takes the opportunity to check on the rest of the guys who are in various states of completing their work. He knows all of these guys are hard workers so he’s not sure why some of them are slacking off just because the manager is having a bad couple of days. He does his best to boost morale but it seems to be a lost cause. He hopes that the manager can do better tomorrow.

It feels kind of weird for John to give up that quick, but he knows his coworkers better than Dave does. Thankfully he gets a lot perkier during their attempts to hunt after work, even though they don’t find anything. Dave refuses to take the blame for that, even if he did take advantage of the boring lull in demon sensing for a rousing bout of sex. John promised him more sex the day before and Dave wasn’t about to make a liar out of his boyfriend.

When they check in back home, Dad admits that he hadn’t found anything either despite the recent activity all over the place. Maybe the surge of demons was just that, a surge, and not the portends to something worse. 

* * *

The next two days are about the same with only a couple changes. The supervisor just stopped showing up. John only got one wall up a day even with Dave’s help, though Dave might have been a little hindering with more kisses than handiwork. The rest of the guys weren’t faring much better either with fewer of their own work done. Everything felt like it was stalling out, even the hunting with no demons again which makes Dave a little stir crazy but John finds ways to calm him down. It’s amazing what the wonders of a blow job or two will do for one’s mind.

* * *

By Friday John is barely crawling out of bed. Dad chastises Dave for keeping him up and disturbing his sleep which Dave denies as much as he’d love to take credit. He knows something is going on though as their bond is all staticky. Dave is tempted to reach out to Dirk to ask about it but he doesn’t really want that to become a thing. Tomorrow they’ll sleep in and everything will return to normal. Hopefully. 

This day however turns out to be even farther from normal than the rest of the week as only part of the crew that shows up is just as bedraggled as John is. It’s a surprising low number of heads in the room for how many cars there are outside. John once again takes over the list of tasks but it doesn’t seem like a lot. In fact, Dave’s pretty sure that’s the same list John gave out the day before. In fact, he’s assigned himself the same room they finished yesterday. It is farther away from the group so Dave takes that as a sign to grab John and press him up against one of the newly made fuckable walls. 

He loves the little gasp he gets before he seals his mouth over John’s and kisses him hard, his hands grabbing at John’s ass to make his attentions well known. He smiles as John gets into the kissing and even hikes one leg up around Dave’s waist. It’s weird not getting the usual feedback through their bond. Maybe they just haven’t called upon it recently enough. Dave decides he’s going to do his best to fix that. Dave careful about not tearing John’s new tool belt off as he pulls John’s jeans down. He gropes the bare flesh before fumbling around in his pockets for a moment. Finally he gets lube to cover his fingers without making too much of a mess even though he’s planning on making such a mess out of John. It pays to keep a tube of lube around and this one wasn’t even hell sent. He might have been planning a moment like this all week.

“Dave!” John cries out as Dave carefully opens him up. “Fuck you’re going so fast.”

“Hush now,” Dave murmurs, “You don’t want the guys to come running over, do you?”

“Mmph!” John bites down on his lip hard as Dave gets a third finger in. 

“That’s what I thought.” Dave finally gets through some of the static on their bond and feels the pleasure surging up between them. “Oh yeah, you like this, don’t you? The chance of being caught? You’re not as straight laced as you thought, are you? C’mon John, say those magic words.”

“I want you, I need you to fuck me right now, Dave,” John demands as red and blue flare up on each other.

“Yes sir, mister carpenter sir.” He gives John one last deep kiss before spinning him around and pinning him chest first against the wall. He pulls himself out of his own pants and lines up with John, sliding in easily to mutual moans. “Fuck, I’ve wanted to do this all week long.”

“Like we haven’t been fucking daily,” John says breathily as he gets used to Dave again.

“Yeah, yeah, but fucking you on the job, that’s something special.” His arms curl around John, bracing him. “Watching you work with those hands, with these muscles, bending over with that ass, I’ve been so good not to jump you, but now I got you, John. I have you. I want you. I need you.” There isn’t any need nor want for a slow pace so Dave doesn’t hold back. He makes John cry out with each hard thrust until John manages to bite on his lip again to try to muffle himself. Dave puts his own teeth to use marking up John’s neck where he knows their bond will still show through. He leaves little pinpricks of red as he loses control a little when John tightens up around him. “Fuck, John, do that again.” 

“Dave! Dave! Dave!” He reaches down to touch himself but Dave bats his hand away so that he can stroke John himself, matching the heavy fast rhythm he’s already set. Dave feels that he’s close, he feels like he’s so close to John in moments like these. He murmurs senseless sensual things into John’s ear as he drinks in their shared pleasure. 

It’s a crash to the end as John comes first, coming onto the fresh wall. Dave is a half step behind him, pulling out and adding to the mess as well. The painters will clean it up later, but what a great way to christen the new room. 

Their heavy breathing fills the room as they slowly come down from their orgasmic high. Dave kisses John’s neck in apology for the bites. John just slumps against him and the wall with a soft laugh. Eventually Dave’s arms get sore from holding him up and he supposes that they need to get dressed and either back to work or headed home. 

“Hey, Egbert. Stand up for me. I didn’t fuck you that amazingly hard.” He gets grumbles back but then eventually gets John to his feet. He redresses himself and then John when the other makes no apparent move to put his pants back on. “Are you going to get any more work done or should we head out of this mess of a work place?”

“Don’t wanna go,” John mumbles.

“What?” He raises an eyebrow at that. It’s not like John at all.

“Too much effort. Why can’t we just stay here?” John stumbles over to the bucket of drywall mud that Dave had found on Monday and sprawls out on the makeshift seat, nearly tipping over backwards before being caught by the wall. “See, got a seat and everything.”

“I bet the couch at home is much more comfortable, dude.”

“Too far...” 

Dave frowns and heads over towards John but a glimpse out the window makes him pause. He can see several of the crew just sitting around just like John, louding in what looks like awkward uncomfortable positions. 

“Oh.” He’s dumb. He’s so dumb. He should have seen this a couple days earlier. What the fuck. He was too distracted by John’s hammer arms to really pay attention to what was going on. But where is the source... He thinks back to what John was talking about on their hunting trips. It was the site manager who first started acting weird, coming back from Vegas. The perfect cesspool for picking up Sin. But where the fuck is he? Dave closes his eyes and searches mentally for anything that might tip him off. He finds the weak bluish gray lump not too far away, too lazy to put out enough energy for Dave to feel but apparently just enough to start making smaller lumps from John’s coworkers.

He walks over to John who looks up at him with heavily lidded eyes like he’s about to fall asleep. That bit of blue showing through though isn’t as bright as it normally is. And the static in their bond is back in full force. Dave should have known, he should have figured it out sooner. 

John’s under Sloth’s influence.

Dave growls and he feels the weight of his sword drop into his hand. He pivots and leaps out of the window, his wings snapping out to catch him before he hits the ground running towards the manager’s office. He kicks open the door and recoils a bit at the stench of piss and shit coming from the man who’s become too lazy to get up even for his own bodily needs for several days. At least he was too lazy to even go home, making him an easy target for Dave and his anger. 

Cloudy blue gray eyes barely try to flicker over to Dave as the sword comes down and neatly beheads the Sloth demon. He can feel the blanket of energy start to dry up as the gray blue flames eat the body and the mess it left behind.


	12. Arc 9 - Clean Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Cake

He closes his eyes again and pinpoints the next three men turned demons and the rest aren’t faring too well. The three are just over the edge, not quite bad enough to create their own miasma yet as they were still feeding off of the site manager’s energy. He stalks over to the first one who was on the edge of the property. He slices through his prone form, letting the demon fires erase any trace. He double-checks the neighborhood on that side but it doesn’t seem like anyone was close enough for it to spread to.

Dave turns back to the rest of the construction site. He tucks his wings away as he hears people start to stir, coming back from Sloth’s influence. The second of the turned is sitting in the port-a-potty. Dave grimaces as he slides his sword through the poor bastard’s heart. At least this one knew what was coming after him. He put up the weakest of fights though, simply raising his arms like Dave’s sword wouldn’t just slice right through. The body slumps down. He’s not sure if it’ll catch for a long moment and then the flames start up. Dave closes the door behind him so the fire wouldn’t alert anyone else.

“Dave!” John shouts from the window above. Dave feels a sharp tug on his bonds. Seems like sleeping beauty finally woke up. “Dave! What the-” The brunet pulls back into the room and it sounds like an elephant stampede the way he comes crashing down the bare stairs. “Dave! Did you just stab Franco?”

“Uh... maybe? I stabbed someone. Dispatched two others too.”

“Why? Why did you stab anyone?”

“Sloth. They were all Slothed.”

“What?” He takes a step back like he was hit.

“Yeah, we had a demon on campus. Your manager picked it up from somewhere probably this weekend and brought it here. You said he went to Vegas right? Then he was infecting everyone. A couple were already turned. This Franco guy was one of them.”

“You can’t just stab them like that! I knew that guy! He wasn’t evil!”

“Not evil yet. But he wasn’t really good either, was he? He had just enough laziness, enough natural Sloth in his system that Sloth grabbed hold, especially this close to a source. Hell, even you were under its influence.”

“No I wasn’t...” He trails off in doubt as he reflects on recent events. “But I’m alright now!”

“Because I killed the baddy. You’re welcome.”

“Then Franco would have been okay!”

“No. He and the other guy were too far-gone already. There is one more and then we’ll be fine.”

“One more? No, Dave, no you can’t.”

“I have to John. This is my job.”

“Who is it? Let me see if I can save him.”

Dave sighs and closes his eyes. “He’s over by the generator.” John’s off running before Dave opens his eyes again. He follows slower. Everyone else is still shaking off the effects of Sloth so they’ll have a few moments before they’ll need to get out of here.

“Werner, Werner! Hey dude, listen to me, you have to snap out of it. Please, please stop being a dumb shit! I know you’re not lazy! You have a family at home! Come on, Werner. Please!” John is grabbing the man’s shirt and shaking him. Dave would usually find the ragdoll effect amusing but he knows that this is going to suck. He can feel the steep hold Sloth has on him. John’s just not getting through. “Your wife Suzanne will be wondering when you’ll get home. Little Danny and Riley are going to need you, Werner. You can’t let this get the best of you. You have shit to do!”

“Nah,” comes the soft reply. “Dun wanna. Too hard.”

“That’s bullshit, Werner! Snap out of it!”

“John, it’s too late.”

“No! I refuse to give up!”

“John, look at his eyes. He’s practically a demon.”

“But he’s not!” he tries to argue but Werner’s eyes are nearly white with how pale blue-gray they are instead of their usual black-brown.

“Just leave me,” the man murmurs.

“John, get out of the way.”

“No! No! Werner! He’s going to kill you if you don’t get up and get better now!” Dave can feel the panic, desperation, and anger coming in clear over their bond. It’s starting to make him feel guilty about what he has to do. Which means he needs to stop this farce and just get on with it.

His sword drops into his hand. “Move, John. I’ll make this as quick and painless as I can. But I can’t leave him. He’s not going to get better. You tried.”

“You can’t! You can’t! He’s not a demon! He’s not a bad guy!”

“And neither are any of the other people he could infect if I let him live. I have to end this. This is my job.”

“He’s not evil!”

“But he’s not good and healthy and okay either! It’s a gray zone. This is where I function. I’m not about to do this again.”

“What again?”

“Ask your dad.” He pulls John away with his free hand, strong enough to give him a full clear shot and fast enough that John is off-balanced. Before John can do more than cry out, Dave slides his sword between Werner’s ribs and through his heart. The man gasps as the pain hits him. Then he sighs out his last breath and slumps down. John himself sags off to the side, tears rolling down his face. Dave draws his sword out to a soft gurgle of blood. He waits a moment and then turns to look around the area. Thankfully they are near the generators so fuel is easy to find.

“Dave... Dave. He didn’t... He didn’t catch on fire.”

“Nope. He was just short enough on Sin that Hell won’t take him.”

“But that means... That means he wasn’t a demon.” Dave can hear John’s anger in his voice. It also pulses through their bond and like a beating heart.

“It means that his soul won’t be taken downstairs. That’s why I don’t wait.”

“He could have been saved!”

“No.” Dave grabs the gasoline can and brings it back over. He starts pouring it over the body.

“What are you doing?”

“Cleaning up the mess. It’s the best way to both clear out the residual Sin and cover up the crime I just committed. Your DNA is all over his shirt.” John looks down at his hands like they are covered with incriminating blood. “I do actually know what I’m doing in this business surprisingly enough. It’s kinda like I’ve had centuries to work on it. Gasoline? Great invention.”

John just stares at him with watery horror. Dave picks up the lighter that he sees in Werner’s pocket and flicks it on. John has to look away as Dave drops the fire onto the gasoline. The soft roar of the ignition makes him flinch. John waits a moment before stalking away, anger pulsing through the bond. Dave just closes his eyes and concentrates on the rest of the area. Seems like that did the trick. No more sloth.

He follows John and catches up with him as he’s checking on the last of his coworkers who are still a little bit in a daze. John’s giving him some excuse about a gas leak and he should go home. The man is just off enough that he just nods and heads out to the cars. John looks around for anyone else to shepherd home. It’s actually impressive how John manages to avoid looking at Dave while looking for other schmucks. Dave sighs and heads to the car to wait for John.

By the time he shows up again, there are four cars left in the parking lot. Which accounts for the four people Dave dispatched. John’s no longer teary eyed but he’s still pissed as fuck, slamming the door on Delilah and still not looking at Dave as they drive home with the glow of fire behind them as the gasoline flame apparently reached the raw wood of construction. It’s silent in the car as the only communication Dave gets is through their bond and he reads it loud and clear.

It’s not his fault though. Dave has to. John should understand. How can John put all of the blame on his shoulders? Dave saved him. He saved the others by taking out a few. John hasn’t seen the damage of an entire city taken by Sloth. So much good, so much progress taken out because of a slow crawling infection that no one noticed until it was too late. That’s why it’s so important to cauterize those infected anytime Sin shows up. And that means taking out even those that aren’t fully turned. Why can’t he see that?

John’s out of the car almost before he manages to put it into park, slamming the car door behind him. Dave wouldn’t have been surprised if he had locked the front door behind him the way he slammed that door as well, but thankfully he lets himself into the Egbert’s house just fine. The door to John’s room however is locked with anger still radiating from John. Dave slinks back downstairs to wait on the couch. The goddamn couch like he’s some spurned spouse kicked out of the marital bed.

* * *

 

He’s still there glowering by the time James comes home.

“From the text I received I assumed I would be baking a cake in celebration of a fallen demon, not one to try to help recover your relationship with my son. Though, I suppose they could be one and the same.”

“You can’t solve everything with cake, Jimmy,” Dave sneers up at him.

“Well it doesn’t seem to hurt the situation, David.” He hangs up his hat and coat in the front hall before coming to sit on the loveseat opposite of Dave. “What is the situation? No one’s injured right?”

“Just John’s precious feelings and innocent outlook on the world of hunting demons. You do realize you forgot to teach one of the big rules of demon hunting. Kill the infected.”

“I see.” James pulls out his pipe and gently tamps the tobacco before lighting it.

“No you don’t. You never did. You refused to learn that lesson as well.” Dave leans forward on the couch, annoyed with James’ cavalier attitude about it. “You’re too soft and stupid to realize that it’s a big fucking deal. It’s fucking reckless what you do.”

“You’re as heartless now as you were then.”

“Hell yes I am. And you’re just as pathetic as you were then. What you called ‘mercy’ I called clean up.”

“I know.” His grip on his pipe tightens in anger. Dave feels a stupid pang of pride in wrenching a reaction out of him. “I’ve followed up on some of the cases we were on where innocent bystanders were involved. I’d send them home while you were crowing your victories over the flames of the demons.”

“I didn’t think you thought I was that dumb.”

“I realized later when I went to check up on a couple that we saved from a Gluttony. They were hardly involved and couldn’t have been infected. They were clean. But it didn’t matter did it. You just had to be absolute.”

“Of course.”

“Murder suicide,” James sighs resentfully. “Even though there wasn’t a single reason. It wasn’t Gluttony suddenly gripping them either. That’s not how that one works.”

“But that’s how the job works.”

“I did some more follow up and found more of the same stories. More mysterious deaths or disappearances. Those surrounding the initial victims. Those who weren’t under Sin. Those who only had brief contact with Sin and couldn’t be infected!”

“You know how easy it is. You know why I had to,” Dave argues without giving up an inch of ground in his conviction.

“Of course I know,” James bites out. “I’ve had to! I had to with Mary!”

There is a barely heard gasp from upstairs but mostly Dave feels the shock stinging through their bond.

“It nearly killed me but I did it because I had to so don’t you dare lecture me on the rules,” James continues unaware of his son’s presence.

“I wondered about that. You figured it all out and started going solo. Stopped inviting me out to hunts. Stopped returning my calls. I thought I had just flirted too hard, but that probably also helped push you straight enough that you got yourself a hot momma and made her a momma with a kid.”

“Two children. And don’t you dare speak about her like that,” his eyes flash dangerously at Dave who just leans forward a little more on the couch.

“So what happened?”

“It’s... It’s all my fault. I gave up the business when I met Mary Egbert. The love and light of my otherwise bleak and empty life. I went straight. For her. I didn’t tell her about it. Everything was happy for years. We got married, had a daughter a year later, Jade. Two years later we had John. We were a family. A perfect family. Then when John was three I caught wind of a case.”

Dave can almost see James’ desire to finally tell another soul. Dave bets that it’s been eating up inside of him for quite some time. Through the bond, Dave feels that John’s curiosity is piqued, though combated by fear of the truth. Dave wonders what sort of lie James has been telling him.

“There was a Lust. It...it was going after children. One of Jade’s little friends. A couple children from other school districts. Its targets were all over the place, making it hard to track down, as all I had to go on were the school locations. I couldn’t ignore it. I couldn’t risk the demon coming after my own children. So I hunted.

“A couple nights turned into a couple weeks of chasing it. I had to keep up my real job and still find time for my family while I hunted. Apparently it wasn’t enough.” James sinks down into the chair, pipe hanging from his fingertips. “Mary thought... Mary thought I was having an affair. So she followed me. It was the one night I found the sick bastard. I found him too late. I couldn’t save the child. But she tried to. Oh god, she tried to.” His voice is tight with emotions as he fights to keep it under control. “I tried to explain everything to her. I tried to tell her to get away, that it was too late. But she was a nurse. She wouldn’t just give up. But it was too late. The child passed away in her arms, blue flames taking the body.”

He tries to take a puff on his pipe. A little bit of smoke comes out, not a full breath. “I got her back into the car. She was shaking, shaking so badly. She started talking, asking me questions about what I’ve been doing, about hunting, about the demons, about the case, about the children... She kept asking for more details about the children. I should have known... I should have been better. I should have-” The pipe snaps in his hand, embers sparking out and away.

“We reached home and she got out of the car. She wasn’t shaking anymore. She said... She tilted her head looking up at the house and said... ‘I wonder if John would cry the same way as that boy did.’ And I... I had to.”

There is a sob from upstairs, loud enough for James to hear this time. He looks up startled with all of the pain and shame on his face.

“Yes. You had to.” Dave stands up. “And that’s why you should have taught John the rule. Better safe than sorry. Better safe than regretting it for the rest of your life and lying to your son.”

“It’s not- it’s not like that-” James starts and stops. Dave just continues on anyways.

“I assume you didn’t bake that night to celebrate a fallen demon, the fallen demons. Well maybe you can finish it tonight. Maybe recover your relationship with your son with a bit of frosting this evening, old man,” Dave sneers as he lets the bitter resentment bubbling up from feeling John’s pain get the better of him. But he’s never been the hero so maybe he’s allowed to be harsh. “How about ‘Sorry for killing your mother and lying to you about it’ or ‘I apologize for dragging you into this life and keeping you in the dark’ or who knows maybe they could be one in the same,” he parrots back the earlier conversation, not caring about how fractured the older man’s expression has become. “What? No cake for that, Dad?”

He turns, and if he hears a broken sound escaping James he pays it no mind. He walks away and heads upstairs, following the flowing grief from John. He finds John sitting at the top of the stairs with his head tipped back and tears running down his face. Dave sits down next to him and pulls him into his arms. John goes willingly, a hand coming up to cling to Dave’s shirt as he cries.


	13. Arc Ten - Wrath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Attempted suicide, graphic violence and descriptions of gore. Not the same character, we promise. But seriously skip to the author's notes at the bottom if you need to. I'll fill you in. It's probably safe if you want to ctrl-f to "We don't have fucking time for this" and read from there.

Dave rocks John back and forth while he slowly calms down. He’s never really felt grief like this in his own life because his family is still alive and well as webbed and convoluted as it can get in Hell. He still has his closest family: Bro, his mother Nyx, his step mother Elle, his half-sisters, and his adopted brother. Plus all of the other extended bullshit that makes up the rest of the agents. Most of them more friends than family. But death is more just a reset than an actual end. But humans are so much more fragile. They come and go like leaves on a tree. It’s hard to feel attached to them except in extreme cases like John.

But he can feel John’s grief and pain clear through the bond, as if he needed an extra layer to what he can see on John’s face and hear in his hitched breaths. He gently thumbs away the tears running down his cheeks. It’s been a rough day for him. Dave feels a little guilty for tossing so much onto his shoulders but at the same time, it’s absolutely necessary as a hunter. It’s their job to keep the majority safe. He tries to push a little comfort and understanding through their bond as he runs his hands through John's hair. He closes his eyes to gently kiss John's forehead.

Then something else pulses behind his eyelids. A bloom of red. It startles Dave who starts looking around for the source, because it feels right on top of them. How the fuck did a Wrath get this close without Dave noticing it?

“John, we gotta-”

There is a sharp knock from John's bedroom door. John looks up, face red and blotchy from crying. They both stare at the door. It knocks again, sharp staccato taps.

“What the...” John hurriedly wipes his face as he climbs to his feet with Dave a half second behind him. Dave has the call for his sword at the tip of his tongue as John grabs the handle. The knocks ramp up to incessant, but now that they are standing, they can tell it's coming from the bottom of the door. John finally opens it and squeaks a little as something darts to the wall right next to where the two of them were sitting before resuming the tapping against the baseboard.

“Is that... That's the amulet.”

“It didn't use to move like that.

“Must be Dirk's upgrades. But it seems it’s also found the Wrath.”

“Wrath?” John looks up at Dave.

“Just appeared.” Dave reaches down to pick up the amulet by the chain. Instead of hanging straight down like it's supposed to it's pulling at an angle, tugging on Dave's hand towards the floor, no, downstairs. “John, what's down-”

“Dad's room,” John gasps with realization before turning and running down the stairs, taking them three at a time. Dave just vaults the whole thing with a flutter of wings in an effort to keep up.

John bangs on his father's door, yelling for him. After a frustrated second he pulls back just enough to stomp his foot hard against the bolt of the door. Wood splinters out from the doorframe as they rush in. Time feels like it dilates as they take in the scene. John only has a split second of James’ surprise to wrench the gun’s muzzle away from his mouth. A bang and flash goes off and Dave's heart stops. The red flares up then dies down. But not all the way.

John's panting heavily as he stands in front of his father sitting on the edge of the bed. The bullet that was intended to end James is buried in the wall. The gun is on the floor away from both of them. The moment is tense and Dave dares not move, even with the Wrath still burning dully in the elder Egbert's chest.

“Why?” The word falls from John with such weight.

“I just can’t take it any more,” James answers with a whisper. “I failed Mary. I have failed you and Jade. I hate myself for what I’ve done. I’ve lied to you for so long.”

Dave feels a pang of guilt as he realizes that he’s the trigger for this. He’s the one who pushed James to this edge. His harsh words, possibly going too far. That’s just what he does, isn’t it? He speaks without thinking, acts without considering consequence and shit like this happens. Dave should have learned his lesson by now but he’s sure he’ll fuck up again. Of course he will, that’s who he is, that’s who he’s meant to be. Rose has alluded to that much.

“That doesn’t mean this is the way out,” John argues as he falls to his knees next to his father, pleading eyes looking up at him. “I don’t care that you lied to me. You are much more important than a lie. There is so much more to us.”

“What else is there?” There is just such defeat in James’ voice.

“What else is there?” John pulls away hurt. “There’s me. There’s Jade. There are demons out there who want to prey on kids that you have to rescue.” John climbs to his feet again. “You have to keep fighting!” John yells at him and James flinches away. “You have to keep fighting to make sure it’s worth it. You can’t just give up. You can’t give up!”

“I’m not giving up, I’m finishing this.”

Dave hears the echoes of his words. He’s not sure it was done of purpose but he hears the message loud and clear. It would have been his fault had they not made it in time. John would have put together the pieces and wouldn’t have ever forgiven Dave for it. He would have carried that weight forever.

“You finish this when there are no more demons!”

“John-” James starts.

“No! You can’t! You can’t leave me and Jade. You can’t- You can’t- You can’t. You just can’t.”

“John,” this time it’s Dave speaking up. John doesn’t look back, but Dave knows he’s listening. “John, he’s… He’s the one that I and that amulet… He’s the Wrath.” Now John turns and looks at Dave with fear on his face. “It’s… Fuck. I don’t know. I don’t know what to do because I felt a full blown Wrath a second ago like I was expecting a huge monster in here when we burst in the door, but now… We could be safe? I don’t know. It… It’s contained.”

“Dave. We can’t. I… I just got done with that speech telling him to keep living-”

“You didn’t actually say that much, it was mostly just ‘you can’t’.”

“Shut up. I just told him he couldn’t and now you are saying that we have to…”

“I didn’t say that.” Dave crosses his arms and looks away from John, which means looking at James who is looking shameful. He tries to think how to get out of here. He had that line drawn. If someone is infected the hunters take them out. But that’s because it’s a one-way ticket to sin. Usually. In fact, ‘mostly’ would even be an understatement.

He takes another deeper look at James’ aura. It’s weird. He could have sworn he was at full demon level but now it’s only barely noticeable. More of a character flaw.

But  _ why _ ?

“He’s safe. For now. I won’t kill him.”

“You better not kill him, Dave, or I’ll kill you.”

Dave’s pretty sure that’s not an idle threat either.

“Why?” comes the fragile question, finally choosing the voice of James to ask it aloud.

“I don’t fucking know. I mean, I have theories, but none of it is based in sound science.”

“Dave, you killed Werner because I couldn’t save him. Dad killed M- Because he couldn’t save her. You’ve killed all of those others… others behind Dad’s back. Are you lying to me, Dave?” There is a flash of anger through the bond as John works through the logic in his head. “Are you going to tell me he’s safe just to make me happy then kill him when I’m not looking?”

“No. I’d never lie to you, John.” About this, the occasional white lie to John won’t hurt anything. But he wouldn’t lie on this scale of things. John means too much to him.

“You’ve lied about this before! What’s stopping you now?”

“I…” He shuts up. It’s true. Normally that might happen. Normally he’d stick to his line in this sand. He’d be upfront about it too probably, like what happened at the construction site. But this is so different. How does Dave show that to John, prove that to John? “I swear I won’t do that. I won’t go behind your back. I don’t have a reason to. I’ve never seen someone come back after being that far gone, but he has. He’s safe now.”

“So what makes this so different from before? What makes Dad so different from Werner?” John continues to demand.

That’s the crux of it, isn’t it? What are those differences? It would be easier to think on it without that tapping noise in the background. “He’s a hunter for one.” Dave ticks off on his fingers. “Hunters don’t usually get infected for a very long time because they know what they are fighting. They prepare against it. They know the signs. They know to keep virtue against Sin.

“And then there’s the fact that you people are part angel. Thoroughly watered down, but it’s still fucking there. All the way from the fucking Crockers, even if you changed your name.” But even then, Dave has seen it go poorly from that point. “And you. He has you.” And that’s the most important. “Those three factors can save, have saved him. Werner only casually knew you. He was a goner from the start. If James relapses though… I told you I won’t lie to you. I told you I won’t go behind your back. But my fondness from you won’t stop me from doing my job,” he says while even doubting himself. He can say he’ll take the hard stance but he doesn’t want to feel that anger and grief from John again, especially not directed at him.

It’s terrifying to think like that. He’s a centuries old Agent of Hell who has that line drawn all the way to bedrock but honestly he’s questioning it for John, for a mere mortal human. Bro would be so disappointed probably. But Bro can go fuck himself.

“He won’t relapse. He won’t. You won’t try this again will you?” John asks as he whirls on his heel to face his father, scolding him like he’s been scolded by the elder many times before. There is no way for James to honestly promise that, not with how his emotions are fluctuating, but any such promise is interrupted by the soft tapping noise suddenly increasing and preceding a giant crash coming from the kitchen.

The three of them trade looks quickly before moving to the door to investigate. As they round the hall, Dave drops his sword into his hand and John grabs the nearest weapon. The kitchen door is ripped off its hinges and tossed back into the mess that remains of the cabinets and counters. Red eyes glare at them through the settling dust.

“We don’t have fucking time for this,” Dave complains.

“We were in the middle of something,” John scolds.

The hulking beast is almost taken aback for a moment, blinking at their perturbed reactions. There is a pause between the human, the Agent, and the mess of a demon, bloody and raw, disfigured both from its transformation and James’ previous attempts to put it under. Ripped flesh drips viscera onto the tiled floors. Its arms have bulging muscles peppered with pus-filled shotgun wounds and end in jagged claws that carry pieces of vegetation from outside. Fangs pierce its own lips, tears the flesh again as he opens its jaw to roar at its enemies.

John goes to lift the war hammer but it’s taken from his grip as James steps up between the two, using the fluid motion to cross the distance between himself and the monster, bringing the iron head down hard enough that the crack of its skull echoes in the small space. James follows it up with another swing, pushing the Wrath back into the ruined kitchen. Over and over James hits him, crying out with effort and anger at each heave of the old metal. Each hit is another cracked bone, adding to the brokenness of the demon until it can’t move, can’t do anything but twitch in James’ direction. All of it’s hulking muscle unable to pull a response from its utterly shattered frame.

John finds another weapon and waits with Dave, but it seems as though James has it under control. Dave is watching more than just the fight, trying to monitor James status, hoping that he’s not losing himself but if anything it seems as though the violent outlet is helping. Righteous anger is different from out of control Wrath. It’s a fine line but one that hunters usually walk.

Eventually the beast gives up and expires, red flames licking at its grotesque body. James continues to slam the old hammer down upon it until John steps forward to stop his hand and take the hammer away from him. James turns to him, chest heaving with emotions and exhaustion. John pulls him close with soft murmurs of reassurance.

Through the bond he feels so much from John. There is fear and relief running strong. The vision of his father covered in blood and guts of the monster hits home because moments ago, if they had been too late, that could have been his own viscera painting the walls. But there is the relief that they did save James, a truth that John has to believe, that Dave wants to believe too. The relief that James is still here, that it isn’t his mess that they’ll have to clean up.

There is a stinging betrayal that John has to work through because of the fact that James almost abandoned him. There is a rationalization that it was the Sin inside of him but Dave knows it wasn’t just that. It’s something to work through. But the love for his father shines through their bond and Dave wishes he could show James how much he means to his son.

Instead he has to look away because it’s becoming too intense and he’s starting to feel some of those emotions towards James himself. “Okay, why the fuck did you happen to have a war hammer sitting out in the hallway like that?” Dave asks as the fire licks the iron clean of all of the blood and guts that came off during the brutal violence.

“Family heirloom,” the Egberts answer together.

Dave just shakes his head and surveys the damage of the room. The Wrath demon certainly did a number on the kitchen, probably unknowingly attacking James’ pride and joy. The door to the hallway of course went through the bay windows while the door out to the patio is halfway through the pantry. Dirt and vegetation is trailed in through the wreckage. Dave can catch a whiff of basil. Seems like the Wrath got into the garden as well. It tracked James down. Dave worries about the clean up that will have to happen, both literally with the clean up of the garden and the kitchen and figuratively with any residue the Wrath might have left behind on its journey over here. He’ll let Bro handle that one. Dave’s got shit to deal with here.

“Well now you definitely can’t die because who else is going to put your garden back together, Jimmy. John can handle the kitchen – as he’s a carpenter and currently unemployed, since I killed his boss – but I know fuck-all about plants.”

The dual eye rolling is impressive but it helps break up the morose mood that keeps threatening to come down over them again. James goes to pull the door out of the windows and John rescues the one from the pantry and sets it back up against where it’s supposed to be to help block the elements. It doesn’t work well. Maybe Dave can pull some strings. Maybe he should pick up some minions to bond with… And as soon as he thinks that he knows it will never happen.

He looks over at John. He feels hope through the bond but Dave’s always been mistrusting of hope. It’s a fickle beast that never falls in Dave’s favor. He wants to hope though, for John’s sake.

John looks over at Dave and he feels a surge of feelings come through the bond. It’s too jumbled to actually separate and label but the summary of it all is that they’ll be okay even if they have some things to work out. Like what to do with James. But for now, they’ll be okay. Dave will take that, he guesses. He’ll take that and John’s fantastic ass as he bends over to pick up pieces of broken marble counter.

John glares over his shoulder at Dave when he feels that through the bond apparently and Dave sheepishly starts helping with the clean up, starting with the bigger pieces since he can handle those no problem. James gets a tarp from somewhere and puts it up over the window, casting everything into a bluish light.

Dave works his way back over to where the Wrath gave up on life, now that the flames have died down, leaving no organic trace of the monster, which actually was a lot. Who knew an injured demon would spray that much shit around. Probably aiming to infect more people. Dave will send his crows out to trace the Wrath’s path back to where it came from to send word back down to hell.

As he’s making a pile of trashed spice tins and bottles, Dave picks up Jade’s amulet from where it had apparently been focusing on the Wrath. That explains the tapping noise they heard before the beast made work of the kitchen.

He holds it up to see if it will swing towards James but gravity seems to win and it holds straight down. Another good sign for the elder Egbert, though Dave is still wary about breaking the rules he’s lived by for centuries. Is James truly different to the other mortals he’s seen exposed to Sin? Or are Dave’s feelings (not only for John, but for the camaraderie he once shared with James) getting in the way of his duty?

John frowns when he looks over at Dave, some of the internal struggle must be spilling through the bond. Then John notices the amulet and works through some thoughts of his own with only a quick glance towards where his father is trying to stop a leak from behind the refrigerator.

“We need to call Jade.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who skipped, a summary: Dave's words upset Dad enough that he developed a Wrath in himself. John interrupts him before he can do anything dumb. Dad explains that he just feels so overwhelmed with shame at hiding it and it finally coming out that he almost couldn't handle it. They get interrupted by the Wrath demon mentioned in previous chapters coming in and wrecking the kitchen. John throws Dad a hammer and lets him take out a little steam on the demon. They end on cleaning up the kitchen and John declaring they need to call Jade.


End file.
